|
Car Parts home > Car
Parts Info Center > Recycling coolant
Recycling coolant
Recycling
coolant is very important. Not only does recycling coolant lessen
its impact on the environment, it can also save you money.
Whether you use coolant in machines in your business or in your
car, it is possible to recycle it. There are number of services
that will come right to your location of business to recycle your
coolant onsite or to take it offsite to a recycling facility.
So, why would you want to pay somebody to come pick up your coolant?
Coolant is expensive and the more coolant that you can recycle now,
the less you will have to buy in the future. Also, if you do not
recycle your coolant, you need to pay somebody to dispose of it
properly
If you are changing your coolant yourself, carefully catch your
old coolant in a clean container and seal it. You can then ask a
garage where you can take it to be recycled, or they might even
have their own coolant recycling equipment. If you cyour city does
not have coolant recycling, write to your local officials! And remember
to never dump your antifreeze into a sewer or storm drain!
Yes, antifreeze is technically biodegradable, but it is still poisonous
and has some ingredients, like lead, that are very harmful to the
environment. Also, by recycling coolant, you are lessening the amount
of ethylene glycol that is released into the environment. Therefore,
it is very important to have it disposed up properly. And the best
way to “dispose” of it is to recycle it.
How is recycling coolant done? Dirty coolant can have contaminates
like metal fines, bacteria, mold, and tramp oil. They may also be
depleted of additives like anti-foam agents and corrosion inhibitors.
Dirty coolants cannot perform their job as well of protecting against
freezing, boiling, and corrosion.
Recycling coolant restores the function of the coolant by removing
contaminates and adding the additives back in to meet specific standards.
To do this, the coolant must be sent through a number of decontamination
processes.
· First, the tramp oil is skimmed off the top of the dirty
coolant.
· Then, the coolant is passed through different strainers
and graduated filters.
· Once these larger particles are removed, the coolant is
heated and pasteurized to remove the mold and bacteria.
· At the same time that the coolant is being heated, it is
spun and sent through a centrifuge which takes out any leftover
contaminates.
· Next, the coolant is cooled and sent to a clean tank.
· Technicians then test the coolant for impurities and also
for its concentration. They add water or additives as needed.
This “new” old coolant is ready to be used, once again.
Of course, there are some “leftovers” from recycling
coolant. There is wasted. The tramp oil must be disposed of properly.
The filters also collect a lot of solid waste which may also need
proper, special handling.
Now that you know more about recycling coolant, be sure that you
are one of the many that does it!
|