Innovation and Development

This service enables us to send suitable waste mineral oils to be regenerated and the consequent “rebirth” of over 3,900 tons of regenerated lubricant base oils, leading to significant outcomes in terms of sustainability and environmental savings. This shining Italian example of the circular economy in action was made possible thanks to a supply chain that leads back to CONOU, of which Grassano has been a part since its earliest days.

The mineral oil management operations within Grassano are comprised of: the preliminary assessment of the waste; the process for classification according to type; waste selection, storage and temporary holding areas for incoming waste (with holding tanks for waste oils, waste emulsions and oil-based liquids); a decanting and filtering area; a system for the centrifugation of oil-based emulsions; a pallet recovery station; and a system for washing drums and intermediate bulk containers.

Upon arrival, emulsions are classified based on the percentage of oil they contain, so that they may subsequently undergo different physico-chemical treatments.

Grassano also has a process line specifically for the treatment of automotive filters, where their primary components are separated out, allowing for the recovery of the ferrous and non-ferrous metal fractions, the lubricating oil and the paper. The treatment line includes collection and holding tanks for preliminary and temporary storage, crushing equipment for volumetric reduction, a separator, electromagnets and an induction separator for the recovery of non-ferrous metals. This treatment process is compliant with Council Regulation (EU) 333/2011 and allows Grassano to recover over 1,000 tons per year of ferrous and non-ferrous metals as end-of-waste products.

They are equipped with high-definition video-surveillance systems that transmit images and remote communications in real time, so that the technical departments are always fully aware of what operational procedures are being implemented and can intervene immediately to assist with, additional instructions and specification, where necessary.

From the moment it arrives at the hub, we assume responsibility for the waste—which has been classified according to type in advance, following a meticulous preliminary analysis and review process—implementing the highest acceptance and management standards. These cover every aspect of procedures, from document checks, to sampling at dedicated stations outfitted ad hoc with systems and equipment, to analyses conducted by the internal laboratory, performed on both incoming and outgoing waste.

The control rooms are equipped to constantly test and manage the highly advanced fire protection systems specifically designed for those areas where the potentially most critical operations are carried out. These include, for example:

The heavy motor-vehicle and mechanised equipment traffic at operating hubs can pose a significant hazard, which is why we have long instituted an innovative impact, collision and accident prevention system based on a technology that detects pedestrians from a distance. Their presence is detected long before they enter any vehicle’s range of movement, causing the vehicle first to slow down and then stop completely for the entire time the pedestrian remains in its vicinity.