Case Study · Waste Oil Environmental Reclamation
30 m³/h Waste Lubricating Oil Pre-Treatment:
50% Longer Distillation Tower Intervals, Maximum Resource Recovery
Customised Jingyuan 30 m³/h waste oil purification system — environmental reclamation facility, Chongqing, China
Project Overview
| Customer | Specialised industrial waste oil environmental reclamation facility, Chongqing, China |
| Industry | Waste lubricating oil re-refining and environmental reclamation — Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle |
| Application | Pre-treatment stage in the environmental reclamation process — upstream of distillation and hydrotreatment |
| Fluid | Waste lubricating oil — containing metal particles, carbon deposits, oxidised resin, and sludge from automotive and machining industries |
| Jingyuan system | 1 × customised 30 m³/h waste lubricating oil purification system |
| Flow rate | 30 m³/h (30,000 L/h) — continuous industrial-scale throughput |
| Special requirements | High viscosity tolerance; acid/chemical additive resistant internal components; automatic pressure compensation for viscosity variation |
1. The Challenge: Pre-Treatment of Highly Complex Waste Oil Contamination
Waste lubricating oil from automotive and industrial machining sources is among the most challenging fluids in the filtration industry — containing a complex mixture of contaminants at concentrations far exceeding those in in-service oil. Four specific challenges drove the need for a purpose-built pre-treatment solution.
Extremely complex contamination matrix
Collected waste lubricating oil from Chongqing’s automotive manufacturing and heavy machining industries carries a wide spectrum of contaminants simultaneously: metallic wear particles (iron, aluminium, copper), carbon deposits from combustion blow-by, oxidised resin and lacquer from thermal degradation, water from condensation and coolant contamination, and biological sludge from extended storage. This contamination complexity far exceeds the capability of single-stage filtration approaches.
Downstream equipment damage from insufficient pre-treatment
Without adequate pre-treatment, fine metallic particles and carbon fines entering the re-refining process cause two categories of expensive damage: (1) catalyst poisoning in the hydrotreatment stage — where metal particles irreversibly deactivate the catalyst bed, requiring expensive catalyst replacement; (2) fouling and blockage of the distillation tower packing, shortening the interval between costly tower maintenance shutdowns. The economics of waste oil reclamation depend critically on the service life of downstream process equipment.
Environmental compliance for separated sludge
Chinese environmental regulations require waste sludge generated during oil reclamation pre-treatment to be classified and disposed of as hazardous waste. Disposal costs are calculated per tonne — making sludge volume minimisation a direct economic objective. Pre-treatment approaches that generate oil-saturated sludge (with high residual oil content) incur substantially higher disposal costs than those achieving efficient oil-sludge separation.
High viscosity at industrial flow rate
Waste lubricating oil has substantially higher viscosity than diesel fuel, and viscosity varies significantly with incoming oil temperature and grade mix. Maintaining 30 m³/h throughput with high-viscosity feedstock requires filtration equipment capable of operating against elevated differential pressure without reducing flow rate or requiring frequent manual intervention — a challenge that conventional filter-based equipment typically cannot meet at this throughput scale.
2. The Solution: 30 m³/h Jingyuan Waste Oil Pre-Treatment System
Heavy-duty multi-stage solid separation
The system uses a reinforced multi-stage interception architecture specifically configured for high dirt-load waste oil applications. A graded series of separation stages progressively removes contaminants from coarse to fine — coarse metal particles and sludge agglomerates are intercepted in the initial stage, protecting the downstream precision stages from premature loading. This staged approach allows each separation stage to operate within its optimal contamination range, maximising total system capacity and service interval.
Sludge concentration and oil recovery technology
The system’s physical separation logic concentrates separated contaminants into a high-solids sludge fraction with minimised residual oil content. This serves two purposes: (1) the clarified oil stream entering the re-refining process has a substantially improved baseline quality, reducing the burden on downstream distillation and hydrotreatment stages; (2) the concentrated, oil-lean sludge fraction has a lower total volume and lower residual oil content, reducing hazardous waste disposal costs per tonne of waste oil processed.
Chemical-resistant and wear-resistant materials
Waste lubricating oil from mixed industrial sources may contain residual chemical additives, acidic degradation products, and reactive compounds not present in fresh oil. All internal wetted components in the Jingyuan system are specified in materials compatible with the expected chemical environment — corrosion-resistant alloys for fluid contact surfaces and wear-resistant coatings for components exposed to abrasive metal particles.
Automatic pressure compensation for viscosity variation
The system incorporates automatic pressure compensation that adjusts operating parameters in response to feed oil viscosity variation — maintaining the target 30 m³/h throughput rate regardless of incoming oil temperature or grade. This automation eliminates the need for operator adjustment during shifts and ensures consistent pre-treatment quality across the full range of waste oil feedstock received by the facility.
3. Results
| Metric | Before | After (Jingyuan) |
|---|---|---|
| Distillation tower maintenance interval | Baseline | 50% extended ✓ |
| Re-refined oil baseline quality | Variable — high contamination | Significantly improved ✓ |
| Process throughput | Flow rate limited by viscosity | 30 m³/h sustained ✓ |
| Downstream catalyst/media damage | Recurring — fine particle ingress | Substantially reduced ✓ |
| Sludge disposal cost | High — oil-saturated sludge | Reduced — concentrated, oil-lean ✓ |
| Environmental compliance | At risk — high sludge oil content | Compliant ✓ |
Operational outcome
Since commissioning, the pre-treatment system has operated as the quality foundation for the entire reclamation process line. The 50% extension of distillation tower maintenance intervals represents a direct reduction in the facility’s largest planned downtime event. The improved baseline quality of pre-treated oil entering the re-refining process has reduced process losses and increased the yield of marketable re-refined lubricant from each tonne of waste oil input — a direct improvement in the facility’s environmental and commercial performance.
4. Customer Statement
“In waste oil reclamation, every micron of dirt we remove early saves us dollars in the later stages. Jingyuan’s 30 m³/h system has become the ‘heart’ of our pre-treatment line here in Chongqing. It handles the toughest industrial lubricants and gives our re-refining process the clean baseline it needs. It’s a win-win for our business and the environment.”
— Plant Director, Environmental Technology Firm, Chongqing, China
5. Technical Notes: Pre-Treatment in Waste Oil Re-Refining
Why pre-treatment quality determines re-refining economics
In waste oil re-refining, the economics are determined primarily by the ratio of valuable re-refined base oil recovered per tonne of waste oil input, minus the cost of process consumables and downtime. Fine metallic particles entering the distillation column deposit on packing surfaces, reducing vapour-liquid contact efficiency and forcing earlier column cleaning. Catalyst beds in the hydrotreatment stage are sensitive to specific metal contaminants — nickel, vanadium, and iron at even low ppm concentrations cause progressive catalyst deactivation that cannot be reversed in-situ. Every improvement in pre-treatment precision directly extends the economic life of downstream process equipment.
Regulatory context — China’s waste oil management framework
China classifies waste lubricating oil as Hazardous Waste under category HW08 (National Hazardous Waste List). Licensed reclamation facilities must meet the technical standards of GB 17145 (used oil collection and processing) and operate under environmental permits specifying maximum contaminant concentrations in process effluent and sludge. The Jingyuan pre-treatment system’s physical separation approach — producing a concentrated, low-oil-content solid fraction rather than oil-saturated sludge — is aligned with Chinese regulatory requirements for hazardous waste minimisation.
Scalability for larger reclamation operations
The 30 m³/h configuration handles the pre-treatment requirements of a medium-scale reclamation facility processing approximately 200,000–250,000 tonnes of waste oil annually. For larger operations, the Jingyuan system is available in parallel configurations up to 120+ m³/h combined throughput. For smaller collection and pre-processing centres, the JY-DX5 (5 m³/h) and JY-H130/H330 series provide proportionally scaled solutions.
Operating a waste oil reclamation or re-refining facility?
Jingyuan designs pre-treatment systems for waste lubricating oil reclamation from 5 to 120+ m³/h, with configurations optimised for specific contamination profiles and downstream process requirements. Share your throughput, feedstock type, and downstream process — technical proposal within 3 business days.
Request a reclamation pre-treatment proposal →Shenyang Jingyuan Membrane Systems Co., Ltd. | filtration-system.com/contact | info@jingyuan.hk | +86 138 8931 0698