Used engine oil?
 

Is there a way to make diesel from used engine oil? Could the same process be applied to it as for making biodiesel?

There is now way(that I know of) to convert used engine oil to biodiesel. However, I do know that guy's who have old army deuce-and-a-halves filter it through cheap coffee filters and run it through their multifuel engines. Talking with these guys, I found out that they can run just about anything. They filter used motor oil and used deep-frying oil, as well as pour in straight fresh veggie oil.

Yeah the old Kaisers had cummins multi-fuels They weren't so good in the long run, but they would run on anything oil.

My diesel mechanic neighbor has a older cummins and he just dillutes his used oil back into the fuel tanks. He keeps telling me that I can do the same on my IDI 7.3 which I don't doubt but I can't see putting dirty oil in through the tank, but if it's filtered good enough it shouldn't be a problem.

Well in 95 we got this duece in a 1/2 with a diesel and it had a warning on the visor about doing that. It stated doing that would clog the cat up! I never knew diesel had cats? I use tranny fluid in my tank every so often to keep things clean. I have a 74 John Deere that has never been rebuilt. I use it everyweek for 5 hours so it runs like a champ, blows a little coal but that is it.

There are alot of nasty additives in motor oil that are very environmentally unfriendly when emitted into the air. You might want to stay away from the tailpipe.

With injectors and pumps being at the tight tolerances coming off the manufactures floor, then taking a used oil that has been so called strained or filtered crude at best (coffee filter), through the injectors and pumps possibly scratching them or damaging them beyond repair and performance levels, I don't really think this is a good idea. Please don't missunderstand me, I know people have done it and used the so called filtered oil, but then people jump off of the Golden Gate Bridge also without a parachute. Just my .02

Very true post, bottom line is tolerances and specs! What is it worth????

Time it would take to filter it good enough to maybe save around $50 a year in fuel would save you enough to replace a couple of injectors if it did ruin them, but if the pump went out??? Not worth the time or money saved verses the price of parts that could be damaged and ruined.

Also not knowing were this oil came from, would caution me even more! I see this as one important fact. Owning that diesel is a costly option, I'd like to own one, but cost. So saying that I can't and wouldn't risk that idea posted to save a few bucks, because one has all ready decided to have that plant for their desired application. That to me is part of the deal, I'd rather dump money on an exhaust and air filter than worry about the oil. Those add on's alone would pay for them selves in the first year.

I'm not about to try using engine oil as an alternative for diesel, its too risky to me. I'd rather have clean fuel with no crap in it going into my engine, those things aint cheap to fix, so I wouldnt want to risk ruining it somehow.

I think what I was trying to get at, was not:

"Can we run used engine oil in diesels?" This would be silly and probably harm your equipment.

What I was asking was:

"Is there some sort of process we could use to clean up used engine oil, to remove all the metals, additives, carbon, and other stuff to turn it back into straight mineral oil?"

"Is there some sort of process we could use to clean up used engine oil, to remove all the metals, additives, carbon, and other stuff to turn it back into straight mineral oil?"

Got this off of the API webpage:

Reprocessing is the most common method of recycling used oil in the U.S. Each year processors treat approximately 750 million gallons of used oil. Seventy-five percent of used oil is being reprocessed and marketed to:

43% asphalt plants;
14% industrial boilers (factories);
12% utility boilers (electric power plants for schools, homes, etc.);
12% steelmills;
5% cement/lime kilns;
5 % marine boilers (tankers or bunker fuel);
4% pulp and paper mills;
>1% commercial boilers (generating heat for school, offices, etc.);
5% other.

Re-refining
Fourteen percent of used oil collected is turned over to re-refiners who return used oil to its original virgin oil state.

Re-refined base oil is the end product of a long process involving used oils. The oils are first cleaned of their contaminants -- such as dirt, water, fuel, and additives -- through vacuum distillation and then hydrotreated to remove any remaining chemicals. Finally, the re-refined base oil is combined with a fresh additive by the blender to make the finished lubricant.

Used oil can be re-refined over and over again, and is subject to the same stringent refining, compounding, and performance standards as virgin oil. Before buying a motor oil product, check to see that it has the API Service Symbol "donut" (which identifies the performance level, viscosity, and energy-conserving properties) and API Certification Mark "starburst" that tells you that the product you are buying has met all the current performance specifications established by the oil industry, and the vehicle and engine manufactures.

where i live we burn it in the shop, we have a special drip system we made that will use about a half a gallon an hour... so we can easily burn all the oil we use in a year during the winter...

(we have 2 tractors a combine and 6 trucks that are always needing changed)

Matt