Does AutoZone Take Used Oil? (Things You May Not Know)
Draining used oil out of the vehicle will leave you with a significant volume of oil.
The oil might be useless to you, but it can undergo reprocessing and become valuable again.
AutoZone recycles and repurposes used oil. In this article, you’ll learn how to get used oil to AutoZone and how they recycle it.
You can take used oil to AutoZone. They have a recycling program where customers can give them used oil at no additional cost. You can deliver oil to AutoZone as long as the oil is in a container. Also, the amount of oil shouldn’t be more than the limit set by the government.
Can I Return the Used Oil To AutoZone?
AutoZone receives condemned oil from clients as they have Oil Care. They recycle the oil for repurposing or reuse. All you need to do is collect the oil from your engine and give it to them.
The following steps will guide you on how to drain oil from your engine.
#1. Step 1
Let the engine run for some minutes so the oil can flow freely. Place a plastic tarp under the sump drain.
Get a wide container, put it under the engine, and atop the tarp to collect the oil as it drops.
#2. Step 2
Loosen the plug using a drain plug spanner. After loosening, use your hand and undo the plug and allow the oil to flow into the container.
#3. Step 3
You can also poke a tiny hole in your filter dome so the oil can drain.
#4. Step 4
If the container isn’t suitable, turn the oil into a polythene container to enable transportation. Ensure that the oil doesn’t mix with any substances.
#5. Step 5
If you’re not dropping off the container immediately, keep it in a cool, dry area. Anytime you’re ready, you can take the container to AutoZone.
How Much Used Oil Will AutoZone Take?
AutoZone collects 5 gallons of oil and two secondhand oil filters from consumers every day.
This limit means delivering a large volume of oil will take multiple days. AutoZone takes as much oil as the limit fixed by the Federal or State governments.
Law agencies observe this process and conclude how much oil AutoZone can receive daily. This limit, though, has exceptions.
Owners of trucking fleets and commercial businesses can have some exemptions.
If you fall in this category, you can meet with the local government authority and ask them for advice.
What AutoZone Does With the Collected Oil?
AutoZone diverts millions of gallons of waste oil from incinerators and landfills. They reprocess the oil and repurpose it as industrial fuel for their supply trucks.
AutoZone filters the waste oil and then takes it to industrial furnaces to burn it at extreme temperatures. This process leads to steam production and the steam fuels industry Lorries.
The following are various ways AutoZone repurposes waste oil.
- AutoZone collects waste oil from stores and moves the oil to processing centers. At the center, they filter the oil and isolate different quality grades.
- AutoZone then tests the oil for contaminants and then sells the oil.
- Waste oil that isn’t up to condition for re-reprocessing changes into new products by refining. They get products like livestock feed and pet food from recycling the oil.
- AutoZone reprocesses waste oil from auto repair workshops into the engine oil. They also process the waste oil into gear lubes and hydraulic and transmission liquids.
- Recycled waste oil produces oil filters, grease, and brake fluid.
- AutoZone reprocesses the oil to get asphalt for highways.
- Recycled waste oil serves as a source of fuel for power plants.
- Reprocessed used oil can produce items like clothing fibers, paint, and carpeting.
Does AutoZone Charge To Remove Used Oil?
AutoZone won’t charge you when you bring your used oil to their delivery centers.
So long as the oil comes in an uncontaminated vessel, AutoZone will recycle the oil.
AutoZone has a responsibility to the public to reduce the negative effects of the automobile industry.
They won’t charge you when you take your waste oil to them. AutoZone is one of the Recycling Partnership’s members.
This partnership includes auto parts dealers in North America. They all partake in reprocessing waste oil and products like oil filters.
Each year, the Recycling Partnership saves 18,184,360 liters of oil from landfills.
Why AutoZone Recycles Oil For Free?
AutoZone, as a company, is socially responsible, so they do all they can to protect the environment.
Oil is a substance that sticks to most surfaces it contacts, including water.
Inappropriate oil disposal into a storm drain or gutter can cause contamination of water bodies like oceans, streams, and rivers. The oil can then poison water life and even plants.
The volume of oil that drains during an oil change can damage 4,546,090 liters of water. Therefore, it is only right to encourage oil recycling.
Furthermore, it is unlawful to discard used oil wrongly. Vowing to do that means you can answer to the law if caught.
You can pay fines, get jailed or be liable for sanitary costs. It is only right to take waste oil to AutoZone so you can do your part in maintaining a clean environment.
How Does AutoZone Recycle Used Oil?
AutoZone reprocesses used oil by riding the oil of contaminants like dirt, condemned additives, fuel, and water.
The summary of the process is in the table below.
| Recycling Process | Importance |
|---|---|
| Testing | The used oil undergoes testing to confirm its recycling worthiness. |
| Treatment | Dehydration occurs to extract moisture, solvent, and light contaminants. |
| Vacuum Distillation | This process separates distillate oil from the contaminants. |
| Hydro Treatment | This process extracts residual polymers and contaminants. |
The first step to recycling waste oil is testing it to ascertain if it is worthy of re-reprocessing.
Dehydration of the oil follows, then treatment of water distillate.
Dehydration removes any light contaminants in the waste oil by heating. After heating, oil filtering takes place to rid the oil of impurities.
Dehydration brings out residual light petrol, which fuels the refinery and holds ethylene glycol.
The repurposing of ethylene glycol helps in reprocessing antifreeze. The next step is extricating industrial oil from waste oil.
Vacuum distillation then brings out the lube fraction. This step happens in a high vacuum state. The lube fraction is the portion reprocessed as a lubricating fluid.
This process produces a heavy fluid having additives of the waste oil, including by-products like asphalt extender.
The lube fraction goes through hydro treatment. Catalytic hydrogenation then extracts residual polymers.
These polymers include additional chemical compounds, hydrogen, and saturated hydrocarbons.
The last step is fractionation; this process splits the oil to get three different grades. One is light gelatinous lubricants for all-purpose lubricant use.
The second is low gelatinous lubricants for industrial and automobile use.
The final grade is the heavy gelatinous lubricant for heavyweight uses. The oil obtained in this process is known as re-refined base oil.
The final process of recycling used oil involves mixing additives into the separated oil grades.
This step will create end products that have precise anti-friction and detergent characteristics.
The final product undergoes further testing to confirm its pureness and quality. If the results are satisfactory, the producers will release the product to the public.
Benefits of Recycling Used Oil
Reprocessing preserves oil and is advantageous to the environment by saving water from ruin.
The table shows recycled used oil applications.
| Amount In Percentage | Application |
|---|---|
| 43% | Used in asphalt plants. |
| 14% | Used in factories for industrial boilers. |
| 12% | Electric plants use it in their utility boilers. |
| 12% | Utilized by steel mills. |
| 5% | Used by lime and cement kilns |
| 5% | Sold for other applications. |
| 5% | Marine boiler use. |
| 4% | Used in pulp and paper factories. |
| Less than 1% | Commercial boilers for offices and schools. |
Conclusion
Autozone receives used oil from households and companies. For individuals, the highest amount of oil you can deliver is 5 gallons, while there are exceptions for companies.
AutoZone doesn’t charge for dropping used oil at their locations.
AutoZone reprocesses used oil by riding the oil of contaminants like dirt, condemned additives, fuel, and water.
