At the Elmendorf AFB 3rd Transportation Squadron, Logistics and Maintenance Shop (3TRNSS/LGPM), the employees have come up with a simple innovation to take care of one of their biggest waste streams—oil mixed with antifreeze. Usually the result of a blown head gasket, this waste must be separated from the others and managed appropriately. That is, storage restrictions must not be compromised and the antifreeze/oil mixture must not be mixed with other waste streams which can be recycled.

Separate oil/antifreeze mixture to prevent hazardous waste disposal and generate reusable antifreeze.

With a 55 gallon drum, a faucet, soak pads and Absorbent W, TSgt. Leon Burts and Mr. Herman Rumfelt came up with a system to separate oil from antifreeze. The absorbent and the pads soak up the oil as the waste fluid passes through the packed drum. A faucet is affixed to the bottom portion of the drum with a nut and sealant. Gravity is all it takes to run this unit. By the time the contaminated antifreeze gets to the bottom of the drum and is drained through the faucet, it is completely oil-free.

• Approximately 94 percent of the antifreeze passes quality tests and is ready to go directly back into engines.

• 3TRNSS/LGPM estimates that they run about 1,200 gallons of oil/antifreeze through this unit per year. If they had to dispose to the product, it would cost them around $13,608.

• Cost savings result from not processing the contaminated fluid for reuse. Recycling oily antifreeze costs $4.61 per gallon ($7,500 per year). In addition, prior to recycling, the fluid would require filtering, at a cost of approximately $1,000 per year.

• The 3TRNSS/LGPM reports that they have not changed the soak pads or Absorbent W since they started using this self-made system (5 months) and it continues to yield quality product.
• The system was built using less than $50 for materials.

TSgt. Leon Burts and Mr. Herman Rumfelt
3TRNSS/LGPM
Elmendorf AFB, Alaska
(907) 552-4906