Tag Archives: Fuller’s Earth

Oil Regeneration by Fuller’s Earth

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Fuller’s Earth is a clay like substance found all over the world.  Historically, Fuller’s earth was first applied to treat cloth therefore, it may also be called a “smectis” whcih has also been called “soap rock.”  Practical use of this substance prevailed up to the 1930-ies.

In the first half of the 20th century, researchers focused on  improving the oil refining process.  An American scholar, David T. Day, was the first researcher to publish the fact that oil fractions, passing through Fuller’s Earth, are separated into parts that differ in color, viscosity, specific weight and other properties.  As a result of day’s findings, many scholars began to pay attention to this characteristic of Fuller’s earth.  For example, the researcher,  Kaufmann, filtered concentrated cylinder oil using Fuller’s Earth as an adsorbent.  He observed that the first portion of the product was characterized by lower density and viscosity, as well as a lower ASTM coke number.

All subsequent factions had properties similar to the properties of the source raw material. In 1930, in France, the Houdry process that converted lignite into gasoline, was found to be inefficient.  The previous studies had shown however, that the process can be improved by using Fuller’s earth.  If  Fuller’s Earth is appled as an adsorbent, the characteristics of the oil product are changed due to the selective adsorption of nitrogen, nitrous and oxygen containing compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.  The developers and producers of oil processing equipment have taken this fact into account when designing modern oil processing machines.

It should be noted that oil regeneration is a full restoration of the performance characteristics of oils which ordinarily are unfit for further use because of significant deterioration of their physical and chemical properties.  Oil can be processed either by percolation (granulated Fuller’s earth) or by contact treatment (fine-grained Fuller’s earth).

GlobeCore has developed the CMM-R line of regeneration units that feature a modern and self cleaning Fuller’s Earth system.  A unique feature of this equipment is that Fuller’s Earth can be reactivated directly in the equipment.  First, it improves the regeneration process and reduces the scheduled and unscheduled downtime of the equipment.  Second, it allows for considerable cost saving since there is no need to buy new Fuller’s earth and dispose of the used Fuller’s earth during and after each processing job.

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The use of GlobeCore CMM-R units restores the dielectric strength and chemical composition of dielectric transformer insulating oil.  When using the GlobeCore Process, considerable sums of money are saved and the reliability and efficiency of oil-filled equipment is increased.

The GlobeCore Process regenerates oil with no discharge of oil from the transformer.  When connected, the CMM-R systems form a closed path where

oil that needs restoration flows into the unit and the processed oil  flows back to the transformer in a continuous loop.  In this way, contaminants are washed out from the solid insulation.

Additionally, oil may be regenerated on energized transformers allowing an uninterrupted supply of electricity to consumers.

Transformer Oil Regeneration by Fuller’s Earth

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Transformers are considered to be the main element of the power stations, distribution stations, and power conversion units.  Operational reliability and service life of transformers largely depend on the condition of the dielectric insulating oil and solid insulation.

The dielectric transfomer oil is considered to have good performance characteristics when it is free from unwanted  impurities such as water, air, and mechanical particles.

Usually, insolation used in transformers consists of organic materials (cellulose and oil).  During the operation, factors such as the electric field, temperature, and contact with construction materials result in the oil’s aging.   If the water content, atmospheric oxygen and mechanical impurities in the oil increase, the performance characteristics of the oil will be reduced.  The transformer will fail much sooner if the oil becomes contaminated and moistened.

Even if the contaminated transformer oil is removed and fresh oil is properly placed into the transformer, the new oil will quickly become contaminated since about 15% of the contaminated oil is always left in the transformer when the oil is merely changed and not regenerated.  The residues of contaminated oil quickly penetrate the fresh product thereby shortneing the aging processes of the liquid insulation.

It makes no economic sense to buy oil very often.  Great somes of money are spent, but the beneficial results last only for a short period of time.

Having years of experience, GlоbeCоre is in the business of  manufacturing equipment for purification and regeneration of transformer oil, industrial oil, turbine oil and other types of industrial oils and fluids.  The company has succeeded in developing transformer oil recycling technology that exceeds modern industrial requirements.

GlobeCore adheres to the “preventive maintenance” principle that means performing periodic maintenance in order to prevent the need to perform corrective maintenance.

GlobeCore’s new mobile oil filtration stations in the CMM-R equipment line are considered to be the most effective means of regeneration since they were developed with regard to the contaminants and conditons that cause oil to prematurely age and degrade the solid insulation.  The CMM-R line of oil reconditioning units are based on the following important principles:

(1) Fuller’s Earth – a naturally-occurring material – serves as the  filter.  It retains different impurities due to its performance characteristic (porosity – 125 m2/g).  The new CMM-R units automatically reactivate their own sorbent materials inside the unit for uninterrupted processing without unloading spent sorbent and reloading new sorbent;

(2) GlobeCore equipment ensures complete transformer oil purification.  The operational principle of the CMM-R oil purification units is that oil is circulated through a closed path: contaminated oil runs to the unit (where it is regenerated) and goes back to the transformer already fully cleaned and regenerated.  Due to the constant oil circulation, contaminated oil is washed away from the transformer’s core, windings and solid insulation;

(3) During the processing, oil does not make contact with atmospheric oxygen that has a negative impact on insulation systems; and

(4) Oil regenerated in the CMM-R oil purification unit have increased resistance to oxidation.

Summing it up, GlobeCore CMM-R oil regeneration units have such benefits as:

  • trouble-free operation;
  • oil can be regenerated on an energized transformer;
  • reduction in financial expenditures since there is reduced need to buy new oil;
  • reduced manual labor costs.  There is only one operator required to service the unit when older traditional technology requires a group of workers to bring new oil, de-energize transformers, discharge oil, and then add new oil to the transformer;
  • mobility, When working with a large number of transformers there is no need to create a special infrastructure to carry out oil reclamation.  Mobile CMM-R oil purification units may be easily transported from one transformer to another; and
  • no hazardous discharges into the air, water or land.

GlobeCore technologies provide uninterrupted transformer operation and allow for reduction in operating costs.

What’s the Catch in Oil Regeneration/Reclamation?

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Nowadays, more and more industrial facilities try to make their activity consistent with sound environmantal rules.  Many companies are trying to do their part in environmental preservation.  In particular, they try to join different environmental agencies and seek cost-effective solutions to manage waste, including regeneration or recycling of used oils.  All these efforts are targeted at environmetal risk elimination.    Different state and local authorities have developed a set of regulations for used oil management.  One such establishment is the U. S. Federal Government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that has set up rules and regulations for industry to manage used oil.  These so-called “green” regulations however, do not require industrial facilities to change used oil, but merely suggest possible ways of its management such as recycling or reclaimation.

In general, both recycling and reclamation processes are targeted at recovery and re-use of material that has already served its purpose so it can continue to be used.  But recycling and regeneration/reclaimation are slightly different. Usually, the performance chracteristics of reclaimed oil are restored to its original condition so it may be used again in the field for whcih it was originally formulated.  The service life oil that is removed for  recycling comes to an end and it is re-refined to new lube oil or may be used as industrial fuel in other industries with less stringent requirements.  Sometimes, the term oil recycling is used to mean burning oil or disposing in landfills which is completely unacceptable in the twent first century.

According to EPA standards, used oil is considered to be off-specification if it doesn’t satisfy the following permissible levels:

  • Arsenic – 5ppm max
  • Cadmium – 2ppm max
  • Chromium 10 ppm max
  • Lead 100 ppm max
  • Flash point – 100 F min
  • Halogens – 4000 ppm max

It is possible that this oil may be used as fuel for coke ovens or lime kilns in industries subject to EPA guidelines.  Every industrial facility should have a well-developed plan of how to manage their used lubricants.  When oil can no longer perform its functions, it should be processed in the most appropriate way. In order to define whether to recycle or reclaim oil, testing of an oil sample is recommended.

Industrial oil types such as transformer oil, turbine oil, hydraulic fluids, and industrial oils may be reclaimed without degrading their lubricating properties.  As a rule, reclamation includes such procedures as (1) filtration (removes slugde and foreign particles); (2) centrifuge treatment (removes impurities and moisture); and (3) vacuum dehydration (removes water). If transformer oil has to be reclaimed, often it is filtered using a sorbent material such as Fuller’s Earth.

Fuller’s Earth is a special bleaching clay that adsorbs all impurities. But when used to clean and filter oil, many companies have to cope with the problem of disposing of the contaminated sorbent when it is saturated and can no longer remove contaminants from the oil.  GlobeCore therefore, developed a special and unique process to reuse the Fuller’s Earth sorbent materials.  Designated as the CMM-R line, this advanced equipment allows equipment owners to kill two birds with one stone: to reclaim oil without generating hazardous waste by reactivating the exhausted Fuller’s earth up to 300 cycles before disposal as non-hazardous waste. Additionally, CMM-R units can perform high vacuum degassing, filtration, and remove acidic materials on an energized transformer.

Special attention should be paid to the reclamation of turbine oil since after filtering, turbine oil has to continue to perform very important functions such as lubrication, sealing, cooling and preventing corroision.

There has been an increased demand for hydraulic oil reclamation.  Equipment owners therefore try to seek cost-effective solutions to restore their oil to its original condition.  The peculiar feauture of hydraulic oil is that it is able to accumulate sediment during high-pressure operations. Therefore, processes such as adsorption, vacuum dehydration and filtration are desirable techniques in reclaiming hydraulic oils and fluids. As a result of these processes, particulate matter, moisture, and other contaminants are removed.

GlobeCore has developed a cost effective solution for high-quality  oil purification. GlobeCore equipment is designed to degass and purify different types of oil, including hydraulic fluids and turbine oils. The GlobeCore UVR line allows for removal of particulate matter, gasses and other contaminants. Fluids, processed on UVR units comply with international standards for high purity requirements.

GlobeCore equipment has been operated in more than 70 countries of the world and has enjoyed a wide popularity. So, it’s time to get with the Process, the GlobeCore Process!

How to Recycle Fuller’s Earth?

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Historical facts

Adsorption purification was first applied in order to remove asphalt and resinous unwanted substances from oil fractions in the early years of the modern oil industry.  At the very beginning, bone coal was used to lighten kerosene and heavy-oil products.  But, as time went on, Bone Coal was replaced by Fuller’s Earth and the Fuller’s Earth turned out to be more effective during the purification of cylinder distillates performed in 1893.

Nowadays, adsorption purification is often applied to remove the resinous colored substances from lubricating oil.  During the percolation process by the Fuller’s Earth, oil fractions are divided into parts that differ in color, specific weight and other properties.  It was David T. Day who first described this phenomenon in an article that drew oil recycling process researchers’ attention to the properties of Fuller’s Earth.  For example, another reasearcher named Kaufmann, discovered that the first portion of cylinder oil, filtered by the Fuller’s Earth, had lower density and viscosity and less coke value than the following fractions.

The properties of each new portion more and more resembled the properties of the source raw material.  It has been established that the properties of the substance were changed because sulfuric, nitrogenous, oxygen-containing compounds, as well as polycyclic and aromatic hydrocarbons, were being absorbed selectively. Nowadays, such processes as contact purification and percolation are based on this time tested principle.

GlobeCore Fuller Earth for transformer oil

The Fuller’s Earth sorbent materials

In the course of contact purification, oil makes contact with the adsorbent for some time at a pre-set temperature. At the next stage, unwanted adsorbent components separate from the oil product.

During the percolation phase, oil runs through the column of Fuller’s Earth under pressure that provides the necessary flow rate.  The adsorbent grains are used to carry out this process.  The fine-grained earth can be applied only during contact purification.

Fuller’s Earth Reactivation: Is it Possible?

There are about 35 to 40% of resinous and oil substances left in the Fuller’s earth after an oil treatment cycle.  It makes no economic sense to dispose of the contaminated product or buy new sorbent after each oil purification process.  Firstly, it will cost much money and efforts to buy new Fuller’s Earth all the time.  Secondly, the disposal of contaminated sorbent is time-consuming and requires significant expenditures.

With this in mind, the engineering department at GlobeCore has developed a unique technology that completely reactivates the Fuller’s Earth sorbent materials without removing the material from the oil regeneration columns!

This advanced GlobeCore technology allows the sorbent to last and be used over and over again for between 2 and 3 years (up to 300 cycles) with no impact on the oil reclamation process.  This is the revolutionary feature that distinguishes GlobeCore’s machines from the machines of other manufacturers.  The Fuller’s Earth however, cannot be used indefinetly.  When it is finally exhausted after years of service, the Fuller’s Earth can be disposed of as “Non-Hazardous” waste.

The following reflect some of the laws and regulations that determine the management and disposal of exhausted in the European Union countries.

Exhausted Sorbent Management in Europe

Waste Management has been considered to be one of the key priorities of the European Union (EU) since it was founded.   In countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Italy, waste management has been tightly regulated by the state since the early 1990s.

Generally speaking, two special documents such as (1) waste regulations and (2) hazardous waste regulations, determine the way waste is managed in the countries of the European Union (EU).

There are some regulations that have been adopted to govern the management of special waste.  It is therefore, the members of the EU that have to improve or draft legislation so that the member nation can fully comply with the purposes and requirements of the EU regulations.

All the different wastes are divided into two classes: (1) hazardous; and (2) non-hazardous.  The way the exhausted Fuller’s earth is managed is determined by the class of the wastes it belongs to.  It is clear that the rate of the sorbent’s hazard is determined by the amount and composition of oil that it contains.  For example, in Germany, oil is determined as hazardous waste if it contains more than 20 mg/kg of PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls).  These substances are collected and delivered to special collection centers which have them recycled by special hazardous waste handling companies.

Generally, people deliver hazardous waste to the collection centers themselves, but if it is an industrial facility,  hazardous waste is taken by special machines and containers directly from the site.

In some countries of Western Europe, recycling is considered to be the main method of hazardous waste management.  In other countries however, they are buried and/or burned.

To comply with the requirements of waste dumping rgulations, many countries require that the waste be stabilized by reducing the amount of hazardous substances in the waste in order to meet acceptable levels.  Waste stabilization may be performed by physical and/or chemical treatment.

In South Australia, the used, oil-containing, sorbent is managed according to the ‘Environmental Protection Act’ of 1993.  Article 25 of the Act determines common ‘environmental (also called ‘green’) taxes,’ that should be imposed on individuals whose activity results in environment pollution.   Additionally, it requires all reasonable measures to be taken to prevent and reduce the amount of hazardous waste generation.

If the used sorbent contains a small amount of oil  (up to 0.1m3), it may be disposed of as solid waste at a waste collection center.  The latter should have a license to carry out such processes.

Therefore, before the sorbent is disposed of, it should be (1) tested to determine the toxicity; and (2) extracted.

The results will show if it is possible to mix the exhausted sorbent with other industrial wastes when collecting, transporting or recycling them at collection centers.

If there is more than 100 kg of the sorbent, and it is contaminated with fluid that contains light and medium hydrocarbons, this waste should be delivered to special facilities to be treated or disposed of in accordance with current laws and regulations.

In case of any doubts, please, consult the specialists on the environmental hot line.

In the USA, used sorbent disposal procedure differ among the states.

In 2012, the California Department of Natural Resources issued a special document, called “Used oil filters and adsorbents. Questions and Answers.”  It reflects the basic principles of oil-containing materials management such as exhausted Fuller’s Earth.   According to this document, the disposal of absorbent that contains waste oil is forbidden in landfills.

The following are exempt from those prohibitions:

  • Exhausted sorbents with no visible signs of oil content;
  • Non-hazardous sorbents;and
  • Sorbents that were cleaned to remove oil.

Apart from landfills, there exist other possible ways to manage exhausted sorbents.  In particular, some companies that are engaged in adsorbent production also collect exhausted material in order to purify it.

Used oil that has been previously removed from adsorbent can be burnned for energy recovery.  The sorbent grains can be recycled or also burnned for energy recovery at officially recognized facilities.

Landfill operators should take the following measures to prevent the delivery of absorbent that contains used oil:

(1)  Place warning signs against oil contaminated waste;

(2)  instruct staff to look for and reject oil contaminated waste; and

(3)  inform their customers about the prohibitions.

A similar situation has also been observed in other states.  In the USA, exhausted Fuller’s Earth is managed in the following way.

First, the oil is drained and then disposed of.  After all hazardous substances have been removed from the Fuller’s Earth, it can be managed as solid waste.  If Fuller’s earth has not been cleaned and hazardous substances removed, it should be delivered to the officially-recognized facilities to have it purified.

In Russia, exhausted Fuller’s Earth management is regulated by the Act of the Ministry of Natural Resources “Adopted Criteria for Classification of Environmentally Hazardous Waste” and by the Federal law No. 89, “Production Wastes and Consumption.”

First, waste containing oil should be tested in a special laboratory to determine the class of hazard.  In Russia, all waste is divided into 5 classes such as:

I – extremely hazardous waste;

II – highly hazardous waste;

III – moderately hazardous waste;

IV – low-hazard waste; and

V – non-hazardous waste.

After that, waste is documented and delivered to special centers that are involved in landfills or in the disposing of hazardous waste.

It should be mentioned that in Russia, there is a Federal Waste Classification Catalogue, where the “bleaching of clay containing oil,” is considered to be the 4th class of hazardous waste.  But, since Fuller’s earth may be disposed of under different operating conditions, it is necessary to test it each time.

In Ukraine, used adsorbents are burnned or placed into a landfill.  Only bulk and free from clogs adsorbents may be burnned. It is therefore, adsorbents, based on polymer, synthetic, carbon fibers or polypropylene and foam plastic that are exempt from burning.

You might have noticed that legislation provides only general recommendations for the waste management. So, what is the most practical way to dispose of used Fuller’s Earth?

Bleaching clay is considered to be a valuable raw material for cement and brick manufacture.  Tons of waterproof cement, based on used bleaching clay is in commercial production nowadays. According to the cement production formulas, about 3% of used bleaching clay is added to the mill while grinding clinker.  Different resinous substances, present in the used bleaching clay, makes cement plastic, waterproof, and hard.

The experiments have shown that when adding 15 % of used bleaching clay to the source raw material, the final product will have good performance characteristics.  Used bleaching clay should be cleaned and hydrocarbons should be removed before applying it into the cement production mixture.

Clay that has been cleaned of oil may be applied as a filling material in the road construction industry or as a component of insect powder in agriculture.

Additionally, de-oiled bleaching clay may serve as a good raw material when manufacturing fire-clay bricks.  Such technology provides for the reduction in the fuel consumption when burning bricks.