Method for solidifying waste oil

Abstract

To provide a waste oil solidification method capable of preventing the waste oil or the like from flowing-out or scattering, by solidifying the waste oil remained in machinery or the like.SOLUTION: A waste oil solidification method for solidifying waste oil in a container includes: an oil extraction step S1 of extracting oil in the container; an oil gelling step S2 of spraying agent made of a thermoplastic resin polymer into the container to gelatinize the oil remaining in the container; and an urethane injecting step S3 of injecting foamed urethane into the container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a waste oil solidification method for solidifying waste oil remaining in machines and the like.

Background Art

[0002] When a machine having a speed reducer is to be discarded or disassembled, the gear oil in the speed reducer is discharged in advance to prevent the gear oil from leaking or scattering. In a speed reducer where gears are intertwined, even when the gear oil is discharged, gear oil remains inside. If a machine with remaining gear oil inside is disassembled, discarded, transported, etc., the remaining gear oil may leak or scatter. Therefore, when disassembling or transporting a speed reducer or the like, it is necessary to perform caulking so that the gear oil does not scatter around. Also, when discarding a speed reducer or the like, if the gear oil scatters due to the impact applied to the speed reducer, it may have an adverse effect on the surrounding environment. Flushing may be performed for the purpose of removing the gear oil remaining in a speed reducer or the like. However, since flushing is time-consuming, it is not efficient to perform it on a speed reducer or the like that is to be disposed of. If the gear oil can be solidified, leakage of the gear oil can be suppressed. Conventionally, a technique of adding a treatment agent (solidifying material) to waste oil to solidify it has been disclosed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a waste oil solidified body in which a powder or granular binder is added to and mixed with waste oil. However, in the conventional waste oil solidification technology, it is common to add and mix a treatment agent to waste oil. Therefore, a technique for solidifying the gear oil in a speed reducer in which a large number of gears are arranged has not been established.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention aims to propose a waste oil solidification method that can prevent the leakage and scattering of waste oil and other substances remaining in machinery and other equipment by solidifying them. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present invention, which solves the aforementioned problems, is a waste oil solidification method at room temperature for solidifying waste oil remaining in a container, comprising the steps of spraying a gelling agent into the container to gel the waste oil and injecting foamed urethane into the container. In this waste oil solidification method, the gelling agent that has adsorbed the waste oil and gear oil is sealed (solidified) by foamed urethane. Therefore, even when dismantling machinery, it is possible to prevent the leakage or scattering of remaining gear oil, etc. Furthermore, when disposing of machinery, it is possible to prevent the scattering of gear oil, etc., even if the machinery is subjected to impact or damage occurs. In addition, it is possible to suppress the leakage of waste oil, etc., during transportation. For the gelling agent, a thermoplastic polymer may be used. It is desirable to use polyurethane foam with a foaming ratio of 6 to 10 times, taking into account the leakage inside the container (enclosure). Furthermore, it is desirable to add an additive consisting of a hydrogen-bonding solvent to the polyurethane foam. Furthermore, if the container is a speed reducer, it is desirable to include a step for draining the gear oil from inside the speed reducer. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the waste oil solidification method of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the leakage and scattering of waste oil by solidifying waste oil remaining in machinery, etc. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the wind power generation facility of this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing the procedure for solidifying waste oil. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the container used in the experiment, with (a) being a top view and (b) being a side view. [Figure 4] This is a photograph showing a container filled with oil. [Figure 5] This is a photograph showing a container after the gelling agent has been sprayed on it. [Figure 6] This is a photograph showing the urethane injection process. [Figure 7] This is a photograph showing a container after urethane injection. [Figure 8] This is a photograph showing urethane and gelled gear oil removed from their containers. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] This embodiment describes the case of dismantling an aging wind power generation facility 1. Figure 1 shows the wind power generation facility 1. As shown in Figure 1, the wind power generation facility 1 comprises a superstructure 2 having a wind turbine 21 and support columns 22 that support the wind turbine 21, and a foundation 3 that supports the superstructure 2. The wind turbine 21 comprises blades 23 and a nacelle 24. When dismantling the wind power generation facility 1, it is necessary to carry out the work carefully to prevent the gear oil from the nacelle 24 from scattering or leaking due to any reason. In this embodiment, the scattering and leakage of gear oil is suppressed by solidifying the gear oil inside the reduction gear beforehand when dismantling the wind power generation facility 1. The waste oil solidification method is shown below.

[0009] Figure 2 shows the procedure for the waste oil solidification method. As shown in Figure 2, the waste oil solidification method comprises an oil extraction step S1, an oil gelation step S2, and a urethane injection step S3. The oil extraction process S1 is the process of extracting the gear oil from the reduction gear. The reduction gear has an oil extraction port and an oil supply port, and the gear oil extraction is performed by draining the gear oil from the oil extraction port.

[0010] The oil gelling process S2 is a process for gelling the gear oil remaining in the speed reducer. In the oil gelling process S2, a gelling agent is sprayed into the speed reducer. A thermoplastic polymer or styrene-butadiene rubber is used as the gelling agent. The gelling agent is in powder or granular form and is sprayed into the speed reducer using compressed air to ensure it spreads throughout the entire speed reducer. The gelling agent is sprayed from the oil drain port and oil fill port of the speed reducer. In this embodiment, it is estimated that the gelling agent will absorb 3 to 4 times its weight in gear oil, and an amount of gelling agent corresponding to the predicted amount of remaining gear oil in the speed reducer is sprayed. In addition, if the waste oil does not react well with the gelling agent, a material that absorbs moisture (e.g., a water-absorbing polymer) is used in addition to the gelling agent. After spraying the gelling agent, it is allowed to cure for a predetermined time (a time corresponding to the capacity of the speed reducer, which is 24 hours in this embodiment) to allow the gear oil to be absorbed by the gelling agent. By injecting the gelling agent along with compressed air, turbulence is created inside the reduction gear, agitating the gelling agent and gear oil.

[0011] The urethane injection process S3 is the process of injecting foamed urethane into the speed reducer. Considering the need for expansion into corners, foamed urethane with an expansion ratio of 6 to 10 times is used. In this embodiment, a quick-drying, two-component foamed urethane is mixed with an additive consisting of a hydrogen-bonding solvent. The foamed urethane (including the additive) is injected until the space inside the speed reducer is filled. After injecting the foamed urethane, it is allowed to cure for a predetermined time. By filling the space with foamed urethane, the gear oil (and the gelling agent that absorbed the gear oil) inside the speed reducer solidifies. This prevents gear oil from leaking out of the speed reducer, and also prevents gear oil from scattering even if the speed reducer is damaged.

[0012] According to the waste oil solidification method of this embodiment, waste oil and gear oil are adsorbed by a gelling agent and then solidified by foamed urethane. Therefore, even when dismantling machinery, it is possible to prevent leakage or scattering of remaining gear oil, etc. Also, when disposing of machinery or the like, even when an impact is applied to the machinery or when the machinery is damaged, it is possible to prevent the scattering of gear oil or the like. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress the leakage of waste oil or the like during the transportation of disassembled parts (for example, a speed reducer recovered from a nacelle). Since the gear oil in the speed reducer is deteriorated and various additives are mixed in, it is absorbed by spraying a material that absorbs moisture together with a gelling agent. Since the gelling agent is filled together with compressed air, it is possible to inject it into parts that cannot be reached by normal addition. Also, since it does not require a stirring operation using a stirring rod or the like, it is excellent in workability.

[0013] Hereinafter, the experimental results of the waste oil solidification method will be described. In the experiment, oil was injected into an experimental acrylic model (container 4) that simulated a speed reducer, and the oil in container 4 was solidified by the waste oil solidification method of the present embodiment. Container 4 is shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and (b), container 4 has a box shape formed by four side plates 41 provided in a rectangular shape, a top plate 42 covering the upper surface, and a bottom plate 43 covering the lower surface. An inlet 44 and an outlet 45 are formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of container 4 and the other end, respectively. Inside container 4, a plurality of partition walls 46 simulating gears are provided. Partition wall 46 has the same height as the inner height of container 4 and a width smaller than the inner width of container 4. One of the left and right sides of partition wall 46 is in contact with the inner surface of container 4, and the other has a gap with the inner surface of container 4. In the present embodiment, six partition walls 46 are arranged with a gap between the inlet 44 and the outlet 45. The gaps between partition wall 46 and the inner surface of container 4 are provided alternately on the left and right.

[0014] First, gear oil is stored in container 4. FIG. 4 shows container 4 storing gear oil. In this experiment, as shown in FIG. 4, gear oil with a depth of 1 cm (0.43 liters) is injected into container 4. The gear oil is in a state of adhering to the entire inner surface of container 4. Next, 250 ml of the gelling agent is sprayed from the injection port 44 of the container 4 by compressed air (oil gelling process). The gelling agent absorbs 3 to 4 times the gear oil. After spraying the gelling agent, it is cured for a predetermined time (see Fig. 5). Fig. 5 shows the container 4 after spraying the gelling agent. And after the reaction of the gelling agent, the container 4 is filled with foamed urethane (urethane injection process). Fig. 6 shows the situation of injecting the foamed urethane. As shown in Fig. 6, the foamed urethane is injected from the injection port 44 and filled in the container 4. In this experiment, the container is filled with a quick-drying two-component type of foamed urethane added with an additive composed of a solvent that hydrogen bonds (see Fig. 7). Fig. 7 shows the container 4 filled with the foamed urethane.

[0015] Fig. 8 shows the foamed urethane and the gelled gear oil taken out of the container after the experiment. As shown in Fig. 8, the gear oil stored at the bottom of the container is gelled by the gelling agent. The gelled gear oil is solidified by the foamed urethane injected into the container 4, suppressing leakage or scattering. Therefore, it was confirmed that according to the waste oil solidification method of the present embodiment, it is possible to solidify the waste oil remaining in the container 4.

[0016] As described above, the embodiments according to the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and each of the above components can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the method for preventing the scattering of the gear oil in the speed reducer when disassembling the wind power generation facility has been described. However, the device targeted for waste oil solidification is not limited. For example, it may be used for waste oil treatment in the cutter cleaning ring of a shield machine or waste oil treatment when disassembling the speed reducer equipped on a pile driver. The disassembly of the mechanical equipment may be on land or on water (at sea). In the above embodiment, the gelling agent is sprayed into the speed reducer from two locations (the oil drain port and the oil filling port). However, the number of locations for spraying the gelling agent is not limited. For example, only one of the oil drain port and the oil filling port may be used. In the oil draining process S1, after draining the gear oil, flushing may be performed as needed. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0017] 1. Wind power generation facilities 2 Superstructure 21 Windmill 22 Posts 23 Blades 24 Nacer 3 Basics 4 containers 44 Inlet 45 Outlet 46 Partition Wall S1 Oil extraction process S2 Oil gelation process S3 Urethane injection process

Claims

1. A method for solidifying waste oil remaining in a container, A step of spraying a gelling agent into the container to gel the waste oil, A method for solidifying waste oil, characterized by comprising the step of injecting foamed urethane into the container.

2. The waste oil solidification method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gelling agent is a thermoplastic polymer.

3. The waste oil solidification method according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the foaming ratio of the foamed urethane is 6 to 10 times.

4. The waste oil solidification method according to claim 3, characterized by adding an additive consisting of a solvent that forms hydrogen bonds with the foamed urethane.

5. The aforementioned container is a gearbox, The waste oil solidification method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of draining the gear oil from the reduction gear.

Images