Waste Oil Reclamation Degumming
An environmental lubricant refinery is an enterprise focused on the resource recovery and utilization of waste lubricants. The distillate oil obtained through vacuum distillation contains large quantities of oxidized polymers, carbon black, and gums, which affect the catalyst life and finished oil oxidation stability in subsequent hydrogenation processes.
In the waste oil reclamation process, gum treatment has always been a customer challenge:
Extremely prone to membrane fouling: Gums in waste lubricants have strong adhesion, and traditional dead-end or cross-flow filtration rapidly forms a dense "gel layer" on the membrane surface, causing a drastic decline in flux.
Product color and odor: If gums are not completely removed, reclaimed base oil will change color (yellowing/blackening) during storage and develop odors.
High centrifuge maintenance costs: Centrifugal degumming was previously attempted, but due to the similar density of gums and oil, separation was poor and mechanical repair costs were high.
Non-continuous process: Traditional plate-and-frame or bag filtration requires frequent manual replacement of consumables, unable to match continuous operation demands.
The customer introduced the JY-DMF5 rotating membrane system, leveraging its dynamic physical properties to address gums:
Dynamic shear force (anti-fouling): The membrane disc rotates at high speed under motor drive, generating turbulence and shear force on the membrane surface, continuously washing away attempting-to-adhere gums, suppressing gel layer formation, and maintaining high flux. The system is equipped with temperature monitoring to prevent excessive oil temperature caused by high-speed shear.
Polymer Rigid Composite Membrane: The membrane material has oleophilic properties, allowing lubricant molecules to permeate quickly while viscous gums are intercepted on the membrane exterior. The membrane material tolerates temperatures up to 120°C, compatible with high-temperature oil operating conditions.
High-precision degumming: The membrane pore size distribution is relatively narrow (0.1–0.5 μm), effectively intercepting higher molecular weight oxidized polymers and gum aggregates, improving the color index of reclaimed oil. The system is equipped with online CIP (clean-in-place) functionality for periodic flux restoration; the concentrate (containing gums) requires supporting collection and treatment after discharge.
By deploying the JY-DMF5 rotating membrane system, the refinery achieved automated, continuous degumming in its waste oil reclamation process. The filtered reclaimed base oil showed markedly improved transparency, with the gum removal rate reaching approximately 90%. Filtration flux stability improved roughly 3 times compared to static membrane operation, and because no disposable cartridges are consumed, the per-ton processing cost decreased. The solution effectively protected downstream hydrogenation catalysts and met the refinery's continuous-operation requirements.
Treating gums in reclaimed oil is like filtering glue. We previously tried various solutions with unsatisfactory results. The JY-DMF5 rotating membrane technology addresses the problems that static filtration struggles with through a "dynamic" approach. It not only filters cleanly but, more importantly, operates stably, basically meeting our refinery's continuous operation requirements.