The use of waste oil burners — European experience

The constant rise in prices for the main energy carriers (oil and gas) forces us to look for new types of fuel for heating and industrial power plants. Waste oil burners are considered one of the promising types of equipment today. They are installed on boilers in residential heating systems, used in furnaces, heat generators and air heaters in industries with significant stocks of used technical oils.

In our country, the process of using secondary fuel is now at the very initial stage, which raises many questions about the use of such energy resources. In Western Europe, mining as a type of fuel has been used since the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century, and in many foreign countries there is a positive experience, as well as organizations have been created that deal with the issues of efficient and safe disposal of fuels and lubricants and their reuse.

Application of mining in Europe

The very first factories for the processing of used technical oils appeared in pre-war Germany. It was the Germans who found an effective way to use the thermal energy of the secondary product, regenerating used oil. Today in this country there are 6 enterprises for cleaning and restoring oils with a capacity of up to 280 thousand tons per year, which is more than 55% of the volume of all collected oil.

Regeneration plants are also available in other European countries:

• Italy (6 enterprises producing 240 thousand tons of mining per year);
• Belgium (2 plants producing up to 45 thousand tons);
• France (1 unit per 100 thousand tons);
• Spain (8 installations for 190 thousand tons per year).

In total, 28 plants operate in Europe, which annually produce hundreds of tons of secondary fuel raw materials. It is successfully used not only in heating, where burners are installed on the boilers for mining, but also used for the production of medical goods, explosive materials, used in drying chambers and modern building technologies.

In some European countries (Germany, Great Britain, Italy) the use of mining by direct combustion is prohibited. According to existing EU standards, such fuel can only be used after its pre-treatment: cleaning, degassing, drying, filtration and separation. Collection, storage, transportation and disposal require a special license.

Benefits of using used oil

In modern conditions, mining is one of the most effective ways to obtain inexpensive and high-quality heat. The share of the use of this energy resource in the heating systems of Europe is 50%, the USA -75%. In many cases, the installation of waste oil burners makes it possible to solve the problem of heating industrial, construction and agricultural facilities, transport enterprises and service stations, residential premises in the private sector and in Russia.

Based on the accumulated world experience, for the high-quality and safe use of secondary fuel raw materials in the conditions of our country, it is necessary to take into account several important points:

1. A system should be created for the collection, storage and disposal of used oils of technical and vegetable origin. Enterprises for their processing should be encouraged by the state in every possible way (subsidies, subsidies, moderate tax policy).
2. To ensure environmental protection, it is possible to burn such fuel only on special equipment using modern technologies.
3. Imported equipment must be adapted to Russian operating conditions and have international quality and safety certificates.
4. It is obligatory to pre-clean the fuel, minimizing the release of harmful gases, liquid and solid substances into the environment.
5. The main direction in use is regenerated oil, which retains up to 90% of the qualities of primary fuels and lubricants. Regeneration is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of fuel waste.

For private houses, the opportunity to buy a waste oil burner is a real way to ensure the operation of an autonomous boiler on several types of liquid fuel at once: diesel fuel, kerosene, fuel oil. This is the most modern way to reduce the cost of purchasing more expensive energy sources and, as a result, to optimize heating costs. New technologies will allow the use of such equipment without causing damage to the environment.