Engine Oil Disposal

I have 55 gallon drums with some residual oil in them and a cheap plastic oil collection/storage container with the remains of an oil change a few months ago. All have been sitting outside and proven to have upper leaks that allowed rain water in.

I discovered this when I took the used oil to my mechanic in town and asked what is done with it around here. He let me pour it in his waste container, where we noticed the water that was pouring out along with it. He said he takes it to someone around who incinerates it and a little water shouldn't hurt, but I have about four times as much left and don't want to wear out my welcome there.

While pouring between containers, I used a gas can that has a screen on the pour spout. I thought I could get the water to pour out first by holding it completely inverted, but noticed the water stream came to a trickle while most of the oil remained in the can, not wanting to go through the screen, although a bit of oil did glug through here and there.

How badly contaminated is this water? I'm guessing I don't want to dump it over my drinking water table. Would this be okay to boil off somehow? I'm planning a pocket rocket build and burn to prepare my barrels for an RMH build, could I pour the water slowly on the lid while doing that? What else would I do with it?

While I'm at it, would adding the used oil to the pocket rocket burn be as bad an idea as I'm guessing, or does it get hot enough to be considered "incineration"? Is that a boom-squish scenario?

Most local auto parts stores take used oil. O'reileys, Autozone, etc...It has to be in a sealed container (like in the bottle the new oil came in) but if they really like you they might empty your drip pan, if it's the enclosed type.

I usually take mine to my neighbor though. He has a filter that he pours it through and then he runs it in his heavy equipment. Maybe worth posting on the internet somewhere and see if someone wants it? Reduce REUSE recycle as they say.

Dan Fish wrote:Most local auto parts stores take used oil. O'reileys, Autozone, etc...It has to be in a sealed container (like in the bottle the new oil came in) but if they really like you they might empty your drip pan, if it's the enclosed type.

I usually take mine to my neighbor though. He has a filter that he pours it through and then he runs it in his heavy equipment. Maybe worth posting on the internet somewhere and see if someone wants it? Reduce REUSE recycle as they say.

The closest O'Advazone is an hour away so I called ahead and they recycle so wouldn't take anything contaminated with water. I described my filter method and the guy said they just wouldn't mess with it.

I tried my first pocket rocket over the weekend and it did a good job burning up the residual oil in the barrel, but I'm still wondering if I can do better. It would be nice to find someone who at least got heat for their workshop or something, but how do I tell if there is too much water for someone to take?

Also, can waste oil be burnt at a higher temp to reduce pollutants? Someone mentioned incineration to me, but not sure how the would compare to a pocket rocket burn. Although my first pocket rocket design didn't get hot enough overall to melt the paint off of the middle of the barrel sides, when the oil went up in the initial burn there was a good 1' jet exhaust flame shooting out of the 4' exhaust pipe...

And finally what about the water I successfully filtered from the contaminated oil? Will it have some of the heavy metals from the oil in it yet? Would it be a good idea to boil it off out side somehow?