Claims
- 1. A method of purifying used oil comprising the steps of:placing used oil into a continuous flow apparatus; contacting the used oil with a base introduced at such a rate as to maintain the base at about 1 weight % to about 10 weight % of the oil composition; contacting the used oil with a phase transfer catalyst introduced at such a rate as to maintain the phase transfer catalyst at about 1 weight % to about 10 weight % of the oil composition; heating the composition to a temperature between about 200° C. and about 275° C.; mixing the composition; separating the resultant mixture using a first distillation at a temperature of from about 200° C. to about 275° C. and a pressure of from about 100 torr to about 200 torr; and purifying the used oil using a second distillation at a temperature of from about 275° C. to about 300° C. and a pressure of from about 0.05 torr to about 0.20 torr.
- 2. The method as recited in claim 1 additionally comprising the step of:heating the oil composition obtained from the first distillation to a temperature between about 200° C. and about 300° C.; and mixing the composition after the first distillation but before the second distillation.
- 3. A method of purifying used oil comprising the steps of:placing used oil into a continuous flow apparatus; contacting the used oil with a base selected from the group including sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide introduced at such a rate as to maintain the base at about 1 weight % to about 10 weight % of the oil composition; contacting the used oil with ethylene glycol introduced at such a rate as to maintain the phase transfer catalyst at about 1 weight % to about 10 weight % of the oil composition; heating the composition to a temperature between about 200° C. and about 275° C.; mixing the composition; separating the resultant mixture using a first distillation at a temperature of from about 200° C. to about 275° C. and a pressure of from about 100 torr to about 200 torr; and purifying the used oil using a second distillation at a temperature of from about 275° C. to about 350° C. and a pressure of from about 0.05 torr to about 0.20 torr.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This is a continuation-in-part application under 37 C.F.R. §1.53 of application Ser. No. 09/250,741 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,701 filed Feb. 16, 1999, currently pending.
US Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
5814207 |
Kenton |
Sep 1998 |
|
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/250741 |
Feb 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/418448 |
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US |