Charles Wesley Harrison

The engineering aspects of a used oil recycling project

Abstract In an era of environmental awareness recycling projects have proven almost irresistible to both the private and public sectors. The benefits of more recycling operations are obvious to us: less waste, less pollution and a more prudent utilization of our precious natural resources. However, in the rush to recycle newspaper, aluminum steel, glass, plastics, solvents or hydrocarbons, many projects have floundered due to dismal economics ineffective technology, or legal constraints. In order to avoid the pitfalls associated with many recycling efforts the operators must be ensured of both positive economics and reliable technology. This paper presents an overview of the engineering of Texacos used oil recycling operation which recycles an environmentally unfriendly waste to a valuable product while achieving positive economics.