Can oil purifiers regenerate waste oil?

Some waste oil can be recycled and reused through oil purifiers, depending on the degree of waste oil contamination and the type of oil purifier. Ordinary oil purifiers (such as filtration and centrifugal types) mainly remove impurities and moisture, which belong to primary regeneration; while deep regeneration (such as distillation and hydrofining) requires more professional waste oil regeneration equipment.

Limitations of ordinary oil purifiers

Ordinary oil purifiers (such as plate and frame oil filters, vacuum oil filters, centrifugal oil filters) can handle the following problems:

- Physical purification:

- Filter solid particles (metal chips, dust).

- Separate free water (by centrifugation or vacuum dehydration).

- Remove a small amount of light pollutants (such as certain acidic substances).

- Applicable scenarios:

- Mildly contaminated lubricating oil, hydraulic oil, transformer oil (such as water content <5%, no chemical degradation).

But it cannot handle:

- Chemical degradation of oil products (such as colloids and carbon deposits produced by oxidation).

- Additive depletion (needs to be refilled).

- Emulsified oil (needs demulsification treatment).

- Fuel oil/heavy oil (needs distillation or cracking).

What equipment is needed for real "waste oil regeneration"?

If the waste oil is severely oxidized or contains chemical pollutants, professional regeneration treatment is required:

| Regeneration stage | Required equipment | Treatment effect |

|--------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------|

| Pretreatment | Centrifuge, plate and frame filter | Removal of large particle impurities and free water |

| Deep dehydration | Vacuum distillation tower, thin film evaporator | Removal of trace moisture and light component pollutants |

| Chemical refining | Pickling-debleaching clay unit, solvent extraction tower | Removal of colloids and sulfides (traditional process) |

| High-end refining | Hydrogenation reactor | Desulfurization, denitrification, production of near-new oil (modern process) |

| Additive preparation | Blending tank | Restore oil performance |

Example:

- Waste transformer oil → Vacuum oil purifier can restore insulation performance, but when the acid value is too high, bleaching clay adsorption or hydrogenation treatment is required.

- Waste engine oil → After simple filtration, it still contains oxidation products and needs distillation + hydrogenation treatment to be regenerated into base oil

3. How to judge whether waste oil can be "regenerated" by an oil purifier?

- Restorable conditions:

- The oil color only slightly darkens, and there is no pungent odor.

- Laboratory test: water <0.1%, acid value <1mg KOH/g.

- Situations that require professional regeneration:

- Excessive sludge, emulsification, and high acid value (severe oxidation).

- Contains fuel diluents or metal contaminants (such as lead, zinc).

4. Economic advice

- Mild pollution: Use an oil purifier to extend oil life (save 30-50% of oil change costs).

- Severe pollution: Contact a professional waste oil regeneration manufacturer (the recycling price is about 20-40% of new oil).

Oil purifier is the first step in waste oil regeneration, but complete regeneration requires chemical or high-temperature processes.