If the oil in cars “breaks down” after about 3 months and is unusable, what is done with all the used oil. Can it be treated and recycled?
Here are some links. EPA data from 1992. API info from 1997.
http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/seahome/housewaste/src/oilfact.htm
http://www.recycleoil.org/Usedoilflow.htm
From the API site:
Motor oil doesn’t wear out - it just gets dirty. The oil you take to a collection center to be recycled saves energy. It can be reprocessed and used in furnaces for heat, or in power plants to generate electricity for homes, schools and businesses. It can also be made into lubricating oils that meet the same specifications as virgin motor oil through API’s Engine Oil Licensing and Certification Program.
This wasn’t your question but…
The 3 months or 3000 mile oil change is recommended by dealers that make big bucks from unnecessary oil changes. Check your owners manual for oil change recommendations.
Oil never breaks down… it does get dirty and sometimes contaminated.
So why do the synthetic/premium motor oil companies specifically tout that their oils won’t “break down” like regular/cheaper oils at high temperatures? I don’t know enough about oils to question your assertion, but your statement does seem to directly contradict a major marketing point that is flogged regularly by synthetic and “premium” oil producers as to why their oils ar better.
The Navy uses devices such as the Sharples Oil Purifier or the DeLaval Oil Purifier to keep engine lubricating oil looking like honey. As I recall, the lube oil looked quite similar to car engine oil (though it really is designed specifically for steam plants).
They always told us that the oil never wears out – it just gets dirty. Those purifiers work by centrifugal force, flinging the oil outward in a rotating cylindar with such force that both gunk and water are removed efficiently from the oil.
I suspect that a Sharples could make quick work of a few thousand gallons of cast-off motor oil, though it might take a little longer than regular Naval oil since the Navy doesn’t wait till their oil turns black.
I was referring to the oil that is recommended by the vehicle manufacture. The normal operating oil temperature will not break down the recommended oil. I have owned many new vechicles… I have never owned one that recommended a synthetic oil.
Oil companies used many techniques to market their products. Some people buy their stories and buy their products. Their is also plenty oil “additives” on the market that advertise great things. But again, check the vehicle owners manual before adding any of that stuff.
I was responsible for the operation and maintenance of much very large industrial gas fired turbines, steam turbines and combustion engines. The lube oil was continually circulated through large filters and coolers. The filters were changed monthly or when the pressure drop across the filter showed plugging. The equipment operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for 2.5 years before being shut down for routine maintenance. Even then the oil was never drained.
Oil DOES break down. Car motor oil will frequently change with wear, especially multi-grade oils like 5W30. In particular, I’ve seen many used oil analyses where 5W30 goes 3,000 miles and turns into 5W20. Doesn’t happen most of the time, but it does.
Also, motor oil has detergents put in it at the factory. This is measured by a metric referred to as “TBN” or total base number. Your gasoline powered car generates certain acidic products as a by-product of internal combustion. Motor oil that starts with a TBN of let’s say 9.3 (a respectable number) might deterioriate to 3.5 or so after 6,000 miles, like in the following used oil analysis: http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html
Note the change in TBN in the charts on that page…
There are also additives related to cold flow that will in fact wear out with the passage of time and accumulated mileage.
The above being noted, I think 3,000 mile oil changes are a farce in most cases, but are called for by some users, especially people who live 1.5 miles from work in colder climates, and some other examples.
On my Biodiesel board, a fellow greaser recycles his own motor oil by simply mixing in a quantity of vegetable oil.
soot and other contaminates seem to adhere to the Veggy better than the Dino-oil, and precipitates out the bottom of the container. A little STP oil treatment to put bake some detergents, and the oil’s good as new.
The crud at the bottom could probably be added to the bulk of asphalt/macadam manufacturing.