Low flashpoint materials
Benzoil’s familiarity with waste derived oil products oftentimes invites flammable liquid disposal enquiries on oils and fuels with a flashpoint below 61.5 degrees. These are by definition dangerous goods and in the case of liquids, are known as class 3 flammables. Many fuel products are flammable liquids by design (e.g. petrol to power an internal combustion engine), but some products may have started out as merely combustible and consequently become flammable through inadvertent contamination or production errors. Examples include:
- Diesel fuel has been mixed with petrol (e.g. ULP or PULP)
- Unexpected light ends in marine gas oil or marine fuel oil
- Black oil collectors have mistakenly added waste fuel or solvents to a load of sump oil
When a low flashpoint material mixes with a high flashpoint material the calculation for resulting flashpoint is not a linear, but logarithmic. This means just a small volume of low flashpoint material can have a significant effect in such a mix. Handling, storage and disposal requirements for class 3 flammable liquids differs from that for combustibles, and is more stringent.
On the face of it petrol disposal would seem a straightforward service to offer. Old petrol or dirty and contaminated fuel arises from it being stored for too long e.g. a fuel tank for a disused outboard motor, or underutilised lawn mower. Even under ideal conditions petrol can go off, go stale and outlive its shelf life. Ethanol blends like E10 have a further reduced best before due to the fact that ethanol is an alcohol and has a tendency to absorb water.
The problem with this kind of fuel disposal is that it mostly generated in small fragmented amounts. Jerry cans of fuel are too small a volume for a commercial waste collection business to consider collecting unless a high price is charged. Benzoil has a set a minimum collection volume of one 200L steel drum, which must be in good condition for transport and ideally be on a wooden pallet. Our fuel removal service can mobilise to a commercial premises within 5 working days and provide the correct waste tracking documentation.
If consolidated to more reasonable amounts, waste fuel can not necessarily be regenerated, but can certainly be blended with other hydrocarbons or fuel oils for disposal via combustion.
Given the potential for other co-contaminants, Benzoil can provide sampling and analysis services to determine the best outcome for flammable liquid waste streams. Depending on the composition, volume and location, Benzoil can provide processing, blending, reuse or disposal outcomes. Disposal of flammable liquids projects we do include handling:
- Kerosene
- Aviation fuels including Jet A-1, Avtur, Avgas
- Unleaded petrol (ULP)
- Premium unleaded petrol (PULP)
- Ethanol blends (E10 etc.)
- Low flash cutter
- Light fuel oil