Recycling Used Oil/Lubricants

Keith R

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How about recycling used oil?

Something that has always puzzled me is why there is so little effort to recycle used oil in the DR. Given the DR's energy problems and dependence on imported oil, and the threat used oil poses to water supplies in the DR, shouldn't the DR invest in collection, re-refining and sale of used oil?

How best to do so in a market such as the DR?

Any examples of companies or other entities already practicing/promoting this? Hey Caco, here's your chance to discuss your firm's experience in this!
 

jsizemore

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used oil

Years ago once again Mother Earth News here. They has an article about making a slow drip filter using toilet tissue to clean up used motor oil and reuse it. If I were going to have some kind of buiness I would find a resonable way to filter it and sell it to the moto concho drivers for 2 cycle oil at a discount.
Hey it is the DR.
John
 

jsizemore

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recycled oil

It is oil from oil changes yes. But in the states it is either recycled or has to be disposed of. The cost of disposal for most hazmats is in excess of $20 a gallon and that is if you know what it is.
Many truck garages in the north have waste oil heaters in there shops and they burn it for heat to avoid the whole mess.
John
 

jsizemore

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ok you business types

I found a company that sells a mobil refiner that fits on a skid that is trailorabel for converting use motor oil into #2 diesel. This is the link
http://eadie.com/
Happy money making
Actually there is a lot of options. It just takes capitol.
John
 

lhtown

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The quick oil change shops here do collect the oil into large holding tanks. I really have no idea where it goes. I would imagine that there is considerably less waste oil collected per vehicle here than in the US since most vehicles are smaller and use less oil, and I would also imagine that oil is changed less frequently (I change mine more often). Also, I am sure there is a considerable quantity of oil that is simply dumped by individuals and small shops. If I change mine myself, I simply dump it in the garbage with some paper to absorb some of it. What else is there to do?
 

jsizemore

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$800,000 and you have a start

OK it is $800,000 for a used motor oil to #2 Diesel refinery not including tanks and site prep. Any got big bucks interested I will pass on the info I got so far.
Oh by the way it is $750,000 for a plastic lumber machine not including the shredding and cleaning section.
John
 

jsizemore

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no

The two cycle engines on the motor cycles have seprate oil tank it it mixes with the gas automatically. I have seen some of the oil tanks for the motr cycles and it looks like used motor oil to me. You can use regualar motr oil for a 2 cycle but it has addiditves that are not good for the engine.
Sort of a chopo recycling I guess.

BTW the refienery I was talking about makes 15,900 liters a day of #2 diesel. That woudl go along way in the DR for just one operating. I feel it woudl need to be near Santo Domingo to work though.
John
 

Keith R

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Actually, lhtown, the Dominican refinery will buy back used oil and re-refine it, or at least they used to. That's why I was asking Caco to comment. His company has a fleet of vehicles that they collect the used oil from when they make oil changes, and they sell it to the refinery. The company actually makes money on this -- not huge amounts, but it is a plus on the company bottom line. So it can be done! In fact, folks, it is done in neighboring PR....

Unless things have changed dramatically since 1999 when I last owned a vehicle in SD, used oil is not collected by most talleres and certainly not by individuals, many of whom toss it into the storm drains or trash. In the drains they ultimately pollute the waterways. In the household trash they add to the hazards of the city dump. Yes, folks, used oil has many, many hazardous contaminants.

I know that the Environment Ministry considers that the new environment norm on marinas covers the problem of collecting and properly managing boat and ship lubricants, although I have to wonder how well this is enforced, if at all, and what is done with the collected lubricants (if anything other than dumping).

I find it interesting that the boat/ship angle has been addressed in Dominican regulation, but the lubricants used by terrestrial vehicles have not. "used oil' is included in the definition of "special wastes" that might be possibly subject to special rules, but none specifically included in the norm on wastes. :ermm:

The DR is not alone in this. The poor collection/treatment/ recycling/disposal of used lubricants is a common problem in Latin America & the Caribbean. As I said in the overview chapter of the 2002 edition of my book:

Informal collection systems for used oil and lubricants have existed for some time in many LAC nations. Although most national laws would classify used oil as a hazardous waste and therefore subject to special handling, treatment and disposal rules, in reality most collectors are not registered or tracked and most take no special precautions in handling the used oil they collect. A 1993 Brazilian regulation is the only known existing specific legislation on the topic, although Argentine, Chilean, Colombian, Mexican and Peruvian officials are all known to be working on instruments. Generally speaking, officials fear that existing systems are not functioning well, that much used oil goes uncollected, and the portion that does is often not re-refined and is sold, contaminants and all, for use as cheap fuel -- many times without warning to the consumer about the oil?s degraded quality and the risk from contaminants present.

For those interested in further reading what other countries in Latin America have done, check out
http://www.cepis.org.pe/bvsare/e/lubricantes-vfinal.pdf
(in Spanish)

There was a project proposal last year by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Caribbean Regional Office of the Basel Convention (on Hazardous Wastes) (at CARIRI in Trinidad), and the St. Lucia-based Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI) [www.cehi.org.lc] to assess the used oil problem & develop jointly solutions to it, but I don't know if the proposal was accepted and if the DR chose to participate (the project required some contributions from participating governments in order to make it possible -- about US$12,000 in the case of the DR).

Best regards,
Keith
 

jsizemore

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used oil

So Robert I got from your post that the framework is ther ein the DR to recycle oil already?
And if that is the case it is possable to start a collection site and maybe make a small profit.
John
 

Keith R

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sancochojoe said:
What is actually done in the States with recycled oil, so I can understand what can be done in DR. I'm assuming this is the oil taken from Automobiles during oil changes.
From a 2001 article by Rob Arner at SolidWaste.com:
Approximately 1.3 billion gallons of used lubricating oils are generated in the U.S. each year. Worldwide, this number soars to about 5.3 billion gallons. Of the amount generated in the U.S. each year, over 400 million gallons are largely not recovered and presumed to be disposed of improperly, creating significant environmental problems. Of the approximately 900 million gallons collected, only about 140 million are reprocessed.


Canada, France, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa & the UK all re-refine a larger percentage of their used lubricants than the U.S. does.

In the U.S., oil changing places & auto shops are required to collect and properly store used oil taken from vehicles. In fact, if you look closely at an itemized invoice next time you change your car's oil, you'll see they collect a special "hazardous materials disposal fee" for this from you.

Alot (over 60%) of the collected oil is simply burned as fuel where permitted by the EPA. Some is re-refined to make passenger car motor oils, diesel engine oils, hydraulic fluid and other lubricants. In some countries, used oil is also used in making such products as paints and varnishes.
 

Keith R

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Re: used oil

jsizemore said:
So Robert I got from your post that the framework is ther ein the DR to recycle oil already?
And if that is the case it is possable to start a collection site and maybe make a small profit.
John
:confused: Did I miss something? I didn't see any posts in here from Robert....

I'm guessing you were refering to me. Yes, the DR has a refinery run jointly by Shell and Texaco which can re-refine used oil. The infrastructure it doesn't seem to have at the moment is proper site collection, temporary on-site storage. I'm assuming the current transports could pick up the accumulated liquid and deliver it to the refinery. But that's one of the things I had hoped Caco could calrify for us...
 

jsizemore

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sorry Keith

sorry I had been responding and asking questions all day. So if the Dominicans can sell Bananas and so forth out of the back of pickups whats to keep them from selling used oil to the refineries?
John