Efficient Oil Reuse & Reduced Waste Costs

Recovered cutting oil from a multi-spindle machining process contained water and fine metal particles, making reuse difficult and disposal costly. This case demonstrates how offline filtration enabled full oil recovery, significantly reducing both costs and environmental impact.

Application Snapshot

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Industry:

Industry - Metalworking - Oil Reclamation

Country:

Germany

Oil type:

Cutting oil, Castrol Honilo 974

Executive summary

A manufacturer operating multi-spindle machines needed a cost-efficient solution to recover contaminated cutting oil collected from production. After briquetting milling chips, the recovered cutting oil still contains high levels of water, metal particles, and dust, making it unsuitable for reuse. By implementing a CJC® Metalworking Fluid Filter for fine and depth filtration, the oil was cleaned to a level that allowed full reuse in production, eliminating disposal costs and reducing new oil purchases.

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Water removal

Reduced from 0.35% (3,500 ppm) to 0.01% (100 ppm) → 97% reduction

Oil Recovery

Previously discarded oil is now fully reused

Particle Reduction

Reduced by over 90%, achieving ISO cleanliness 18/17/14 - comparable to the cleanliness level of new oil

Cost Savings

Eliminates disposal costs and reduces new oil purchases

Internal view of a marine MAN engine component in a drill ship engine room.

Client brief

A production facility uses multi-spindle machines to machine aluminum die-cast components. Each week, approximately 1,000 liters of cutting oil are collected from machine sumps and chip containers. After using a briquetting press to dry and recycle metal chips, a considerable amount of contaminated cutting oil is collected.

Challenge

The cutting oil remaining after briquetting was heavily contaminated, with high water content (0.35%) and fine aluminum particles. The oil appeared dark and unstable, making it unsuitable for reuse. To return it to production, water had to be reduced below 0.1% and particles significantly removed. A fast, cost-efficient on-site solution was required.

Solution

A CJC® Metalworking Fluid Filter was installed to treat the collected oil in an IBC tank (~120 L). Using combined depth and fine filtration with natural filter material, the system removes both water and micro-particles efficiently. With filtration down to 3 µm absolute, high dirt capacity, and processing times of 20–24 hours per tank, the solution enables practical on-site oil recovery.

Table showing annual savings in energy, fuel, engine oil, sludge production, and total operating costs after replacing separators.

Efficient oil recovery for reuse

A test filtration was carried out on collected cutting oil from multi-spindle machining after the briquetting process.

The results showed that the CJC® solution effectively reduced water content and removed fine particles, restoring the oil to a quality suitable for reuse in production. This made it possible to recover oil previously considered waste, improving both process efficiency and cost control.

Measurable results and operational impact

The CJC® KSS filter delivered clear and measurable improvements:

Water content was reduced from 0.35% to 0.01%, while particle contamination decreased by more than 90%, achieving ISO 4406 cleanliness levels.

The cleaned oil could be fully reused in production, eliminating disposal needs and reducing the purchase of new oil.

The solution also enabled fast on-site processing, with each IBC tank treated within 20 to 24 hours, ensuring a reliable and efficient oil recovery process.

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