Development of "Oil Rejecting" Cleaners/Process. Can It Be Done?
- Cleaner A was used originally in the final line washer.
- Cleaner B (reportedly used by other transmission plants) shows a more distinct separation but results in a thick upper layer with only about 50% oil content.
- Cleaner C was developed during this project in collaboration with the chemical supplier. It shows a red rejected oil layer containing >90% oil in less than 10 minutes.
Development of "Oil Rejecting" Cleaners/Process.
Cleaner A was used originally in the final line washer. Oil layer turns into a completely milky emulsion.
- 2,500 gallon washer dumped and recharged twice per week.
- Washer at 140°F.
- Complaints of "oily feel" on transmissions.
- Approx. 50 gallons of oil introduced to washer daily. No effective skimmer.
Cleaner B (reportedly used by other transmission plants) shows a more distinct separation but results in a thick, light pink upper layer with only about 50% oil content.
- Not tested in production .
Cleaner C was developed during this project.
- Bath life between 4 and 6 weeks.
- Operating temperature 103 F.
- Oil recovered at site for shipment at greater than 90% oil content.
- Clean transmissions throughout the bath life.
Transmission Oil Recovery Equipment.
Wash tank
- Floating skimmer in final line washer tank.
- Hose delivering skimmed oil and wash fluid to oil-wash fluid separator.
- Stainless steel floats and tilting skim head used to collect oil from the surface of the washer tank.
Installation.
- Hose from floating skimmer.
- Progressive cavity pump for pulling fluid at 10-12 GPM from wash tank and into the separator (Suparator®).
- Electrical controls and disconnect box.
- 1500 gal steel oil storage decant tank in a concrete containment area.
- Line for delivering skimmed oil from Suparator® to tank.
- Storage tank safety overflow to process waste.
Suparator® oil separation system.
- Oil-laden wash fluid flowing into the separator from the progressive cavity pump.
- Weirs similar in design to inverted airplane wings. Skim oil container.
- Wash fluid which passes under and past the weirs is essentially oil free and returns to washer.
- Two ultrasonic level sensors installed into the oil container are used to switch on and off a small pump (not shown) for pumping the collected oil into a tank.
- Separator tank overflow sensor.
- Flush lines supplied with city water automatically flush the weirs for 20 seconds each day to prevent any build-up of paper or other floating debris on the weirs.
Energy Savings
Solution temperature to part set at 140°F.
| Temperature before heat exchanger | 131.5°F |
| Temperature after heat exchanger | 140.2°F |
| Delta temp. (140.2 - 131.5) | 8.7°F |
| Water weight | 8.33lb |
| Specific heat for water | 1 btu/lb °F |
| Run time per year | 5560 hours |
| Natural gas per cu/ft | 1025 btu |
| Flow rate though heat exchanger | 450 gpm |
| (450 gpm) * (8.33 lb/gal )* (60min/hr) *( 8.7°F) * (1btu/°F) * (1cuft gas/1025 btu) * ($3.50/1000 cuft gas) / .80 boiler efficiency | $8.35/hour |
Cost per year = $8.35/hour * 5560 hours run/year | $46,400/year |
Solution temperature to part set at 103°F.
| Temperature before heat exchanger | 100°F |
| Temperature after heat exchanger | 103.4°F |
| Delta temp. (103.4 - 100) | 3.4°F |
| Water weight | 8.33lb |
| Specific heat for water | 1 btu/lb°F |
| Run time per year | 5560 hours |
| Natural gas per cu/ft | 1025 btu |
| Flow rate through heat exchanger | 450 gpm |
| (450 gpm) * (8.33 lb/gal )* (60min/hr) *( 3.4 (T) * (1btu/°F) * (1cuft gas/1025 btu) * ($3.50/1000 cuft gas) / .80 boiler efficiency | $3.26/hr |
Cost per year = $3.26/hour * 5560 hours run/year | $18,100/year |
Cost Savings from change in wash temperature from 140°F to 103°F
| $46,400 | Cost to run at 140°F. |
| - $18,100 | Cost to run at 103°F. |
| ---------- | |
| = $28,300 | / year |
Water Savings
Water Usage Due to Evaporation at 140°F.
| Run time: 4:04:00 AM to 2:13:00 PM | 10.15 hrs |
| Total water added during run time: | 2057 gallons |
| Gallons of evaporated water/hour(2057 gal/10.15 hrs) | 203 gal/hr |
| Gallons of water evaporated/year (assume washer run time of 5560 hours/year) (203 gal/hr) * (5560 hours run/year) | 1,129,000 gallons/year |
Cost per year(1,129,000 gal/year) * ($1.47/1000gal) | $1,660/year |
Water Usage Due to Evaporation at 103°F.
| Run time: 8:02:00 AM to 7:55:00 PM | 11.88 hrs |
| Total water added during run time: | 992 gallons |
| Gallons of evaporated water/hour (992gal) ( (11.88 hrs) | 84 gal/hr |
| Gallons of water evaporated/year (assume washer run time of 5560 hours/year) (84 gal/hr) * (5560 hours run/year) | 467,000 gallons/year |
Cost per year(467,000 gal/year) * ($1.47/1000gal) | $687/year |
Water Savings from extended bath life.
City water savings from recharging 2500gal wash tank 84 times less each year (once/month vs. twice/week). = 210,000 gallons saved/year.
Water savings from temperature reduction from 140°F to 103°F
| 1,129,000 | gallons of water per year at 140°F |
| 467,000 | gallons of water per year at 103°F |
| --------- | |
| 662,000 | gallons of water saved |
Savings Summary
| 1344 Labor hours saved per year | $ 32,256 |
| Steam heat savings realized by reducingWasher temperature solution from 140°F to 103°F | $28,300 |
| Estimated warranty savings | $ 17,775 |
| Treatment reduction of 50,000 gallons of skim oil/year | $ 5,000 |
| Chemical cost savings | $ 3,500 |
| Water savings, 872,000 gallons/year | $ 1,273 |
| Treatment reduction of 210,000 gallons/year ofspent wash solution at | $ 480 |
Total Savings = $82,000/year!
Environmental conservation initiatives can reduce costs while benefiting production.
- Reduced natural gas consumption
- Reduced water consumption
- Recovery of oil contaminate at site (Point source treatment)
- Consistently clean parts
- Reduced maintenance
- Reduced loading to Waste Treatment Plant
- Mild Alkaline surfactant based cleaner vs. high caustic cleaner