Waste oils as motor fuel

The ABC's of using waste oils (WMO) as diesel fuel:

A. Thin fuel to a viscosity and specific gravity similar to diesel.

B. De-water.

C. Filter.

For this discussion, "WMO", is not just used crankcase oil. Almost ANY petroleum product with a viscosity or density greater than diesel can be used. That includes waste motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, gear lubes, and industrial hydraulic fluids.

Petroleum products with a viscosity or density less than diesel, such as gasoline, are best thought of as thinning agents for waste oil stocks. Their lower auto-ignition temperature could cause pre-ignition and cause engine damage.

Because of the high BTU (energy) content of waste oil ... and its high auto-ignition temp ... regular gasoline is a great thinning agent. Also ... if you thin with gasoline ... and let the batch sit ... any water, antifreeze and a LOT of the crud will settle out before you filter, saving you some time.

The above statement is not wrong or rashly made ... WMO oil has MORE BTU's of energy than Diesel. If blended carefully, WMO has the potential of giving better MPG and greater performance than diesel fuel.

You'd be interested in purchasing an old turbine engine then, most of them can run on ANYTHING as long as they get tuned for it.

Propane
Gasoline
Kerosene
Fuel oil
Diesel
Alcohol
MEthane
Hydrogen

Just about anything you can burn they can run

My concern would be with using used waste oil as a fuel in a piston driven engine. Motor oils have a lot of additives in them that can't be burnt. It seems to me that the oil would need to be very well filtered first if not run thru a centrifuge. Look at waste oil furnaces , there is a reason they have ash pans. If somebody can figure out a way to do it, lets hear it.

Additional sources of information concerning the filtration and thinning of waste oils as fuel for diesel engines:

http://www.powerstrokenation.com/for...splay.php?f=72

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/...thread-277887/


oddshot

For those interested "store-bought" pump and filter setups can be found here:

http://redlinepumps.com/

Since I pickup oil in bulk from various businesses, I chose to build my own using a Tecumseh 5 HP engine and a gear head pump that I bought from Redline. I hve used 1" high pressure hoses and 1" black pipe to prevent the chance of a spill or leak. The spin on filters and adapters I bought locally:



Eventually, I found that spin on filters were a bit costly (Also, that PVC ball valve was scaring me to DEATH!!!) so I made my own filter housing from an old fire extinguisher, some 4" PVC tubing. I use sock type filters (from Dudda Diesel, listed in my original post) ... I stack them, one in side another from 20 microns down to 1 micron. Please note that the filters installed on most vehicles only filter down to 5 microns. My process exceeds the design parameters for filtration.



What you can't see in this picture ... there is a pressure gauge in the inlet side of the filter so I can monitor the filter for clogging.

I will post pictures of the internals of the filter.

A large number of folks just filter their fuel via gravity through the filter socks. Because I use so much of it, that would just take to long for me.

To date I have driven over 10,000 miles on waste oils.

oddshot

Please note that your State GOVERNMENT may require that you get some type of "blenders license" to use alternative fuels in your vehicles Some do ... some don't.

It would be wise to check ...

oddshot

If you can squeeze peanut butter through a injector on a diesel it will run on it.

WASTE OIL LIBRARY

Here is a number of research papers and manuals I found useful when learning about using waste oil as fuel for diesel engine.


A study Used Crankcase oil.pdf http://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/oilused.pdf US Forest Service and University of Colorado Study. Mostly impact of WMOs on health and environment. Some useful measurements (viscosity etc) on pages 31-35.

Aviation Fuels Tech Review Chevron.pdf http://www.cgabusinessdesk.com/document/aviation_tech_review. Industry (Chevron) study of Aviation fuels. This has good definitions of fuel characteristics and specifications (BTU etc.) of Aviation and other fuels.

Basics of Diesel Engines and Fuel U of Idaho.pdf http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/bioenergy/BiodieselEd/publication/03.pdf A primmer on diesel engine operations and fuels.

Bio_Diesel_Chemistry.pdf http://www.biofuels.coop/pdfs/2_chem. Strictly a bio-diesel powerpoint.

BTUs in various chemicals and fuels.docx http://www.hrt.msu.edu/energy/pdf/heating value of common fuels. University of Conn paper on Heat energy of various fuels. This paper shows WMO at 125,000 BTU’s under diesel fuel and even with gasoline.

Diesel Fuel Additive Test.pdf http://www.motormayhem.net/wp-uploads/2009/10/Copy-of-Diesel-fuel-additive-version-3. An industry study (The Diesel Place) discussing diesel fuel lubricity improvers. Interestingly WASTE OIL does reduce “wear scar” better than straight diesel fuel.

DIESEL FUEL CHARACTERISTICS AND RESOURCES .docx http://ufa.com/petroleum/resources/fuel/diesel_fuel_resources.html This from a website put up by a distributer of diesel fuel (UFA). As such, it discourages the use of waste oil as fuel … largely because of environmental concerns. This work does have some use in that it explains the characteristics of diesel fuels.

Diesel Fuels and Diesel Fuel Systems .pdf http://www.gregorypoole.com/product...icpowergenerator/Documents/LEBW4976-00 Diesel Fuels and Diesel Fuel Systems.pdf A manual put out by Caterpillar as a discussion of fuels for Diesel engines. Pages 33 to 35 discuss and approve WMO use in Cat engines. VERY GOOD STUFF HERE.

Diesel Fuel Technical Review http://www.chevron.com/products/prodserv/fuels/documents/Diesel_Fuel_Tech_Review.pdf An Industry (Chevron) description of diesel fuel

Fuel Analysis Booklet.pdf http://www.analystsinc.com/documents/info_guides/Fuel Analysis Booklet rev2.2. Industry (Analysis’s Inc) sales literature for fuel analysis. GREAT CHART showing the impact of fuel properties and their significance in diesel engines

FUEL Specific Gravity and Density (chart).docx VERY useful data on motor oil and etc. including crankcase oil. http://www.csgnetwork.com/specific_gravity_viscosity_liquids.html

How to Filter Vegetable Oil.docx A good discussion of filtering. From Dudda Diesel. http://www.dudadiesel.com/filtering.php

Identity and analysis total Hydrocarbons (fuels). http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp123-c3.pdf Part of a larger study, (Total Fuel Hydrocarbons … this paper has a good analysis of fuel hydrocarbons and makes a distinction between No6 Fuel oils or residual oil and WMO or Crankcase oil.

Lube Grease and Fuel SPECIFICATIONS .pdf http://www.cat.com/cda/files/214956/7/SEBU6251-12-01-Mar09.pdf A useful manual discussing lubes and fuels from Caterpillar. This manual discusses various fuel characteristics (i.e., cetane and etc) and ways to improve them. This manual DOES warn against the use of Waste Oil in vehicles … but the concern seems largely to be emission compliance and warranty related.

Temperature Affects Of The Performance Of Fuel Filters.Pdf http://delphi.com/pdf/techpapers/2010-01-0473.pdf An SAE paper on the problems of bio-diesel and plugging fuel filters in cold temperatures. “Filtration Plug Point” due to viscosity and cloud point problems. This is a good start to understanding how fuel filters are plugged by viscosity.

Testing Diesel Fuel Specific Gravity.docx This appendix (from FM 10-67-1) shows how to test specific gravity in fuels … but also has a very good chart comparing the specific gravity of fuels “approved” for the multi-fuel diesel. All it needs is the addition of as range for used crankcase oils (WMO).

Used Crankcase oil in Bunker http://oehha.ca.gov/risk/pdf/UsedOilInBunkerFuel.pdf The California EPA!!! Used oil has a heating value of about 138000 Btu/gal, which is nearly equivalent to that of crude oil.

Vermont Waste oil Study.pdf http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/docs/wasteoilstudyrpt.pdf A study by the University of Vermont for the EPA of waste oil fired furnaces. The conclusion on pages 13, 14 and 15 do say that there is an increase of emissions over #2 oil (diesel) but it is not significant to discontinue the use.

7 Used Oil Best Management Practices - PSEG 6-3-09 http://www.state.nj.us/dep/enforcement/7 Used Oil Best Management Practices - PSEG 6-3-09.pdf This is a power point presented by NJ Power Service electric and Gas (PSE&G) to the State of NJ DEP!!! AWSOME QUOTE: “Fuels that have BTU value are products and not used oil.”

MILITARY MANUALS. It is good to remember that our military does a LOT more than burn things down and blow things up. Because they operate a LOT of vehicles, the US military need to deal with a LOT of fuel. FM 10-67-1&2 have GREAT value to the home blender. They are not easily found for down load … but can be found on Scribd … if you have an account.

FM 70–12 Fuels and Lubricants Standardization This manual has a good break down of military and aviation fuels and their designation.

FM-10-67-1 Concepts and Equip of Petro Ops Appendix L has specific gravity of ALL military fuels. Appendix I has procedures for measuring Specific Gravity. This manual also has a GREAT glossary of terms.

Fm-10-67-2 Petroleum Lab Testing and Ops Chapter 2 describes various petroleum products and fuels. Chapter 8 describes the critical characteristics of fuels and how to deal with them.

BTW ... this does NOT have to be a very complicated process ...

MANY people jut collect waste oil, thin it with regular unleaded gasoline (RUG), 85% WMO to 15% RUG ... let gravity de-water it ... filter it ... and put it directly into their tank.

And they have been doing it for YEARS ... with no problems.

In my OPINION, this approach ignores viscosity and specific gravity differences in various oils compared to diesel ... I believe that this approach, although VERY usable, does not take full advantage of the MPG and performance potential of their waste oils.

It might only be ONE mile per gallon ... but in a 50 gallon tankful ... that's 50 less miles you might have to walk someday.

oddshot

De-watering WMO is not difficult ... It can be done either with the application of heat ... or with the addition of a thinning agent.

Remember ... OIL is LIGHTER than water ... oil FLOATS on water because if the differences in its viscosity. If you HEAT oil ... it becomes lighter still ... and water goes to the bottom more easily. Similarly, THINNING oil chemically, like with gasoline, drops the water out even faster. Also, oil is lighter than most of the "dirt" that you might find in it

The fotos below show a simple experiment ... I created what automatic transmission re-builders call a "pink milkshake". I created an emulsion of old dirty automatic trans fluid and old dirty water .... and poured a bit in two jars.

In one jar I put about one ounce of gasoline ... the other jar didn't get anything ... and then I let the jars sit overnight. Less ten 10 hours later, you can see the result:






Please note, in the above experiment, I did NOT stir the gasoline into the mix ... I just poured it in. Gasoline mixes with oil all by itself ... no stirring or shaking required.


The same thing can be done by pouring your WMO into a black oil drum and let it sit in the sun for a while ... maybe a week to be safe. Heat and gravity will do all the work.... but since you gotta thin the WMO with gasoline any way ... doesn't it make sense to use that method?

That being said ... I DO heat my oil before filtering ... a thinner oil goes through filters faster and easier ... but I need to get some pictures of the equipment I use.

oddshot

My buddy from work has a mid 90's Dodge pickup with a 12 valve cummins in it and he literally burns almost any petroleum product he can dump in the tank.
Used motor oil, used hydraulic fluid, used gearbox oil etc.
We work in a place that uses thousands of gallons of hydraulic oil in our machinery. He takes home 50 gallon barrels of the used stuff, runs it through a filter, mixes it 50/50 with diesel fuel and dumps it in the tank. Changes his fuel filter every oil change and hasn't had a problem in about 6 years of doing this. That ole 12 valve has nearly 300k miles on it and shows no signs of giving up anytime soon.

Keep in mind oil is a polymer chain that can be "cracked" into smaller more usable chains, such as kerosene and gasoline:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracking_(chemistry)

The address I cited above for the Diesel Stop Alternative Fuel forum is not working. The correct address is:

http://www.thedieselstop.com/forums/f22/

oddshot

when I was a diesel mechanic in the army, we had a technical manual for mixing fuels. it told how to use anything from contaminated diesel to JP4. it told how much used motor oil to mix with gas, or whatever you had. I will try to find the manual and post a link to it. It was very informative

Since this is a SURVIVAL FORUM:

I've read that a number of folks just use the bottom portion of the leg from a pair of Jeans ... knot the very bottom ... and use this as a filter bag for gravity filtering WMO for use in diesels.

In extremis, if you are being chased by a herd of zombies and you are 20 miles from warm food, a dry place to sleep, and FRIENDS WITH GUNS ... and you run out of fuel in you diesel powered BOV ... all you gotta do is find an abandoned car.

With luck you should be able to squeeze about 4 quarts of motor oil out of the crank case, maybe a pint or so out of the oil filter ... a couple quarts of ATF out of the automatic transmission pan and its cooler in the radiator ... a couple pints of the gear lube from the differentials ...

AND ... if you've been a VERY good person and lead a virtuous life up to that point... maybe, *just maybe*, there might just be a couple pints of gasoline in the bottom of the tank that was beyond the reach of the in-tank fuel pickup.

Cut the leg out of your pair of Jeans ... combine all the ingredients ... and filter them into the tank .... and then motor on down the road of life to a happier tomorrow.

Even if you don't want to enjoy all of the benefits of FREE (or at least, very low cost) FUEL right now ... just knowing that you can do this might keep you from getting your brain sucked out someday.

oddshot

WATER IN FUEL
CRACKLE TEST

Although there are some folks who will debate this, it is generally accepted that water in diesel fuel is not a good thing. If you took the components of a mechanical (or electronic) fuel injection system, you would find a large number of machined pieces having very close tolerances which could/would be VERY harmed by the presence of water. There are other reasons ... but this one is good enough for me.

The site listed below gives a very detailed description of the "Crackle Test" a very old and proven method of testing oil to see if ... or how much ... water is in it.

http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/301

In a nutshell ... its pretty simple ... either using a hot plate ... or even a LARGE frying pan on a stove ... heat it to 320 degrees F. Then, using an eye dropper, place a drop of your oil onto the hot surface. If you hear a "crackle" noise ... or see some steam ... or see some bubbles in the oil on the pan ... you got water in your fuel... and you have to go over your de-watering efforts.

But please go to the site I mentioned for the whole story.

Do I HAVE to remind you to be careful with oil around an open flame?

oddshot

A fellow who ownes a local mechanic shop where I live is doing this as well. He saves all the automatic transmission fluid when they do changes for customers. He built a filtering system that he runs it through. He then mixes it with regular diesel fuel (not sure of the ratio) and runs it in his personal truck. Seems to work well for him.

He did tell me however that it would not be worth it if he didn't own his own shop and get all the ATF for free.

STORAGE OF WMO

Consider: Which would you think would do better in long term storage a) Gasoline, b) Diesel fuel ... or C) WMO?

Which do you think the GOVERNMENT would give you the most hassle about storing, a) Gasoline, b) Diesel fuel ... or C) WMO?

Which to you think thieves would be LEAST LIKELY to steal ... a) Gasoline, b) Diesel fuel ... or C) WMO?

Something to think about.

oddshot

BTW ... WMO stores very well in plastic or metal 55 gallon drums ... or in those 275 or 325 gallon Totes that are advertised so much on Craig's List. Check your local laws regarding storage of any types of fuel including waste oils ...

THINNING WASTE OIL WITH HEAT

Thinning waste oil serves 3 functions:

1. Thinning waste oil brings its "thickness" closer to the viscosity of diesel fuel. This is important because of the way that the diesel pump works. A long explanation here isn't necessary for our purposes ... suffice to say, your WMO blend will be delivered to the cylinders of the engine if its viscosity is close to that of Diesle fuel.

2. Water and dirt will drop out of a thinner liquid faster than a heavier one. Oil floats on water ... remember? A THINNER oil will float on oil even better!

and... 3) A thinner fluid will pass through a filter much easier than a thick one. If you need an example ... take a paint filter ... and pour one cup of water through it ... it goes pretty easy, right? Now try to pour a cup of maple syrup through the same filter.

This may seem an extreme example, HOWEVER, If you were to HEAT that maple syrup syrup a bit ... you would find if you got it warm enough ... that syrup would go through a filter MUCH faster.

As I stated before ... there are two ways to thin WMO:

1) By mixing in some amount of Regular Gasoline (I will discuss why gasoline is better as a thinning agent than diesel in another post)

2) By Heating the waste oil.

Warming the WMO can be done very simply ... just put the waste oil in a black container and leave it in the sun. But that can take a little time... maybe even a couple weeks.

There are a number of products, i.e., drum blankets, heating elements and etc. that can warm the oil very nicely with electricity. These all work ... but some are more expensive than others.

You may consider a cheaper alternative ... go on down to your local Homboy Depot and purchase a 240VAC Water Heater heating element. The cost will generally be around $15.00. Install an electrical cord onto it so you can plug it into a 110VAC outlet.

Be careful!!! This thing gets HOT as heck!!!

Do NOT lower the heater element into, nor withdraw it out of a drum with it plugged in.

Do NOT allow it to touch the sides or bottom of a plastic container.

You don't have to get the oil REAL hot ... anything up around 90 degrees F will do nicely. I have found that it take about 2 hours to heat up a 20 gallon of WMO sufficiently on a VERY cold day.




oddshot


Before I get a LOT of angry posts: THIS IS SAFE!!!!

OIL IS AN INSULATOR NOT A CONDUCTOR.

However ... Oil is FLAMMABLE ... so insulate this well and work carefully, making certain you don't create sparks!!!!

Take that same water heater element with some black iron or galvanized pipe straights and T's and make yourself a heater that can be threaded into the drum. Thread the element into a T then a long straight and add a short straight off to the side. Don't forget to ground the pipe and element though. This won't heat the drum but will heat it coming out of the drum. They also make drum band heaters that will clamp around the drum that work very well.

BLENDING AND THINNING WMO
THINNING AGENTS

Many people insist on using any number number of liquids, from acetone to kerosene to #2 diesel fuels, as thinning agents for their wmo stocks. I have never seen any research or data that would indicate that this is necessary. Regular Unleaded Gasoline (RUG) should be all you will ever need.

How about some definitions just so we’re on the same page:

Auto-Ignition Temperature: that temperature at which a material ignites with NO external ignition source, as in a diesel engine.

Viscosity: the extent to which a fluid resists a tendency to flow

Specific Gravity: The specific gravity of a material is the ratio of its density to the density of water.

Although Viscosity and Specific Gravity are two different things ... because they both are adjusted by thinning agents, I tend to think of them as being SOMEWHAT related, at least enough for our our purposes.

And now some facts about WMO:

1. Waste oil has higher energy content than #2 diesel fuel. Dismissing the outrageous claims of the Waste Oil heater sales people … Waste oils DO have a higher energy content than #2 Diesel fuel, research conducted, by of all people, the California EPA indicate that there are 138,000 BTU’s of energy in waste oil.

2. Waste oil has a higher auto-ignition temperature (A/I) than #2 Diesel fuel.


So why is Regular Gasoline superior to #2 diesel fuel as a blending agent? Simple math: if the viscosity and the A/I temp of #2 diesel are the TARGETS you are trying to hit … you could mix GALLONS and GALLONS of #2 diesel into WMO and never arrive at your target.

True … the A/I temp and the viscosity of RUG is MUCH higher than that of #2 Diesel … However, the A/I and viscosity of WMO are so high, that the little amount of RUG you need to thin WMO does not negatively impact it.

The data I reference is not something that I generated ... they are NOT MY facts. I have gotten them from the sources included in the "library" I have been VERY careful to weed out information that could NOT be corroborated or sources, such as the WMO heater industry that would want to give biased data.

If you have other information, I would like very much like to see it.

oddshot

BLENDING AND THINNING WMO
SIMPLE PROCESS:

The simplest method for blending WMO with a thinning agent to burn as a motor fuel is the 85% WMO formula. This is a blend of 85% WMO to 15% thinning agent … or a ratio of 5.5 to 1 (5.5 gallons of waste oil to 1 gallon of thinning agent). This mix has been used successfully by a large group of home blenders. The process is simple … dump the thinning agent into the waste oil, stir or otherwise agitate the mix in a manner of your choosing, filter and de-water, pour the blend into your vehicle’s tank and drive down the road of life.

BLENDING AND THINNING WMO:
Fine tuning the blend.

Viscosity: the extent to which a fluid resists a tendency to flow.

If a fuel blender is getting WMO from several sources it is almost a dead certainty that each batch of WMO he picks up will have different viscosities. Who can tell what blend of ATF, motor oil or gear lube a mechanic may have dumped into the storage drum … consider all the different oils that are in any different car parked on the side of the road. It stands to reason therefore, that the viscosity of each batch of waste oil will be different.

Although the 85%WMO formula works very well, it IS conceivable that one could blend WMO with a thinning agent … and arrive at a blend that would give at least the same power and MPG of diesel … if not more! …

This would require a bit more work for the fuel blender … perhaps a bit more than a survivalist would consider useful …

If interested in blending WMO for power and economy please go to one of the forums I described previously and you will find the process all spelled out.

Please note … A lab full of equipment is not necessary for this measurement; a simple DIY Ford Cup Viscometer is all that is needed. A Ford Cup is simply as cup that holds a measured amount of liquid, one once would be enough. The cup has a hole in its bottom that is open and closed by way of a valve. When the valve is opened and the liquid begins to drain … a timer is started. When the cup is empties fully, the timer is stopped. A sample of Diesel fuel is tested to establish a baseline, after that time is established, all of the batches of waste oil are measured, times compared against the baseline ... and adjustments are made using a thinning agent to bring each batch into sync with the baseline.

The drawing below pretty much describes the entire process:



It is important to remember that viscosity and specific gravity are affected by temperature. Therefore, each liquid tested must be done at the same temperature.

I’ve made my own Ford Cup from a plastic bottle , a 1/8 brass valve and a bit of wire for a stand. I don’t own a stop watch … instead I use a metronome set at 60 beats per min.





Using the device pictured, my fuel blend is now giving fuel mileage at the high end of the range expected for a vehicle like mine ... and I'm thinking I might be able to get another 10% to 15% improvement.


oddshot

I have a deuce and a half that has a true multi-fuel engine in it. I filter my used motor oil, but since I don't drive it much I just continue to collect the oil...jic. I have some stored up, but many people prefer "cleaning" the UMO with a centerfuge. I've seen pics of centerfuged oil and it looks like apple juice or iced tea, pretty clear and clean.

If I had a Cummins I'd prefer a centerfuge to just filtering, IP's are expensive.

I'm glad this is working for you.

Thanks this a lot of usefull info