Waste management company - Dispose of or save used transformer oil?

Take an exciting look behind the scenes at Electrical Oil Services (EOS^®). Dominik Schulz, Site Manager of EOS^® in Duisburg, gives us an insight into his work, the role of EOS^® as a certified waste management company and the challenges and opportunities in the field of transformer oil recycling. Find out how the company is helping to conserve valuable resources and create sustainable solutions for the future.  

Mr Schulz, how long have you been working for Electrical Oil Services (EOS^®) in Duisburg?

I joined EOS in December 2023. I was hired as Production and Maintenance Manager. Now I am responsible for the Duisburg production site.

Electrical Oil Services is certified to dispose of used oil in transformers. What are your responsibilities?

As site manager of Electrical Oil Services in Duisburg, I am responsible for a wide range of tasks. These include production and maintenance, liaison with the authorities and day-to-day business. I also work on the overall goal of developing the Duisburg site so that we can sustainably increase our production volume, especially the amount of recycled transformer oil.

As a specialised waste management company, you are trying to increase the production volumes of recycled oils in Duisburg?

That may sound paradoxical. Although we are a certified waste management company, we do everything we can to avoid the disposal of transformer oil waste. The fact that we can do both characterises us and sets us apart from competition.  

We procure waste oils from transformers on the European market. We process them in our production plant, i.e. we recycle them and produce high-quality base oils from them, which are then returned to the cycle. Our base oils are used in various branches of industry. They are used in the printing industry, the building materials industry and the lubricants industry, among others.  

We are focusing on the circular economy within the transformer industry and would like to strengthen this area even more in future. This is a central task of Electrical Oil Services.    

How are you approaching this task relating to the circular economy in the transformer industry?

Well, we are focusing on overarching collaboration within Electrical Oil Services. In particular, our team at the production site in Stanlow, UK, with its decades of experience, expertise and well-developed infrastructure. This provides a clear advantage when it comes to transformer oil recycling and our EOS Closed Loop concept for insulating oils. We have only been active on the German market since 2018. We therefore value the close cooperation with our UK colleagues and are working closely together to implement our EOS^® Closed Loop model in other European countries.  

Thus are you saying, a circular economy for transformer oils has not yet been established in Germany and the rest of Europe?  

The German market is still in its infancy and our customers are only gradually getting used to using recycled transformer oil. As a company, we have a pioneering role and we will drive this sustainable concept forward. It's a new path we believe in!

Electrical Oil Services is committed to reusing transformer oils rather than incinerating or disposing of them. Given that transformer oil can be recycled to achieve as good as new quality, we all owe it to our environment to support sustainable solutions. The planet's resources are finite and recycling should be a matter of course nowadays.

This raises the question of feasibility and, of course, whether recycling is worthwhile

The UK market shows that the recycling principle can be successfully implemented. In Germany, this approach is still new to many customers and confidence in such solutions needs to be built up. Even though the quality of recycled transformer oil is now very high and can be as good as new oil!

However, our experience in the UK shows that a closed loop system is not only possible, but also the way forward.  

By recycling, we conserve valuable resources and reduce our carbon footprint. We even offer financial incentives to our customers, who receive money for the transformer oil they give to us, which we recycle and return back to the market. This clearly shows that recycling is not only sustainable, it is also financially beneficial.

How can we put transformer oil recycling into figures?

Over the last three years, we have recycled more than 12,000 tonnes of insulating oil in Duisburg. This shows our success, but also the potential that still lies ahead of us. Our plant is designed and approved to recycle up to 8,000 tonnes per year. We are taking advantage of this opportunity to grow.  

It is also not difficult to obtain sufficient recyclable transformer oil. For example, the total waste oil potential in Germany in 2023 is over 350,000 Tonnes. However, we need to adapt our processes in order to process it efficiently. Our current storage capacity in Germany is still limited, which is why we currently rely on a continuous system. We can store 120 cubic metres of transformer oil in Duisburg and an impressive 3,000 cubic metres in Stanlow.

One last question: What distinguishes Electrical Oil Services as a specialised waste management company from others in the industry?

Well, we get the best out of the insulating oil waste entrusted to us, from processing of 2 to 3 quality grades to the EOS^® Cosed Loop model and to the production of high-quality base oils.

Whether in Stanlow or in Duisburg - we work every day to become even more efficient and capitalise on new opportunities. Our vision is to promote sustainability at the highest level. We want to set new standards with our expertise in insulating oil disposal and transformer oil recycling as well as the maximum utilisation of oils.  

There is a lot of used oil on the market that does not have to be incinerated but can be optimally recycled - and this is particularly interesting for companies that are committed to sustainability.

Thank you for the interview, Mr Schulz!    

Continue reading here:

• EOS^® Closed Loop model minimises transformer oil waste  
  
• Electrical Oil Services presents: The EOS^® Closed Loop Model  
  
• Insulating oil recycler, laboratory expert, general contractor: Meet Electrical Oil Services!      

Do you have any questions? We will be happy to answer them.