Waste Oil fuel blends deliver cost reduction
Document type: Case Study

Waste Oil Fuel Blends Deliver a Fuel Oil
 Cost Reduction for Bulk Explosive

traffic and the potential for environmental damage due to
 Project Summary spillage during transport and handling.
 While the onsite processing of waste oil is not new technology,
WASTE OIL FUEL BLENDS DELIVER UP TO A 25%
 the rapid development of satellite communications and rugged
FUEL OIL COST REDUCTION FOR BULK processing platforms has enabled the most recent development
EXPLOSIVES of remote processing plants.
Dyno Nobel have worked collaboratively with CREATENERGYe Robust emulsion technology
to bring new technology to the processing of site-based waste
oil and blending with diesel fuel oil for the onsite manufacture of The robust formulation of Dyno Nobel’s TITAN range of
bulk explosive products. The result has been a reduction in bulk emulsions enables the partial replacement of fuel oil with
explosive fuel oil cost of up to 25% for customers adopting this processed waste oil without affecting performance for emulsion
new technology. based products.

The containerised solution to enable onsite waste oil processing Advanced processing and blending technology
and blending with diesel fuel oil provides a system that has a CREATENERGY has developed purpose-built proprietary
small footprint and full automation, enabling a 24/7 operation equipment and processes to enable the safe, reliable and
that can be easily integrated into a mine site waste oil recovery consistent processing of waste oil to a standard required to
and storage system. replace up to 50% of the diesel in blasting. The equipment is
Dyno Nobel has undertaken extensive laboratory testing and containerised and modular to facilitate ease of transport,
blast trials in Eastern Australia to ensure that the use of a waste installation and customisation to specific site needs.
oil diesel fuel blend delivers, as a minimum, equivalent blasting
results in ANFO and ANFO/emulsion blends. The results in
emulsion based products are underpinned by the robust
formulation of Dyno Nobel’s TITAN® range of emulsions,
allowing the inclusion of processed waste oil into the ANFO fuel
blend.

Background
WASTE OIL DIESEL FUEL BLENDS IN ANFO
The use of waste oil diesel fuel blends in ANFO and
ANFO/emulsion blends has been employed for many years to
achieve:
Reductions in the cost of blasting

The direct replacement of up to 50% of the diesel in ANFO with
waste oil delivers an immediate reduction in bulk explosives fuel
oil costs to mining operations.
Improved environmental and social management

The consumption of waste oil onsite in explosives is strongly
aligned with mine site environmental objectives, and the
reduction of road transport for both waste oil removal and diesel
delivery to site improves local social outcomes by reducing road

Waste Oil Fuel Blends Deliver a Fuel Oil
 Cost Reduction for Bulk Explosive

Integrated 3G/4G remote HMI monitoring with a very stable and
 Project Goals robust processing platform allows for rapid assessment of
 processed waste oil quality and quantity.

ONSITE PROCESSING TO REDUCE EXPLOSIVE
COSTS WHILE MAINTAINING BLAST Value Added
PERFORMANCE
The main aims were to: CAPTURING COST SAVINGS AND ENHANCING
1. Conduct waste oil processing onsite to achieve ‘cradle to ‘RIGHT TO MINE’ CREDENTIALS
 grave’ use of waste oil; By removing costs associated with the transport and disposal of
2. Provide separate waste oil processing and waste oil off-site and reducing the diesel fuel oil transported to
 blending/dispensing facilities; site, significant cost savings may be achieved. In a project
 carried out in 2016, a 25% reduction in the fuel cost for bulk
3. Verify waste oil quality and compatibility with emulsion. explosive was achieved. Bulk explosive product performance
4. Determine blast characteristics of waste oil fuel blend ANFO was not impacted and no operational adjustments were required
 based explosive products including ANFO, Heavy ANFO outside of the on-site installation of the processing and blending
 and gassed blends. storage containers. The ‘Right to Mine’ is strongly linked to consistently achieving
 Technology Applied environmental and social objectives, particularly for those mine
 sites in close proximity to landholders and townships. The use
RIGOROUS PROCEDURES FOR EQUIPMENT AND of mine-generated waste oil in blasting contributes to achieving
PRODUCT TESTING these community objectives for mine sites.

to landholders and townships. The use
RIGOROUS PROCEDURES FOR EQUIPMENT AND of mine-generated waste oil in blasting contributes to achieving
PRODUCT TESTING these community objectives for mine sites. Dyno Nobel has developed a specification that waste oil must
meet in order to be used in the manufacture of ANFO and
ANFO/emulsion blends, which includes items such as heavy
metals, particulates, water content, glycol content, viscosity,
density and flash point. Waste oil blends are tested under
laboratory conditions to manufacture ANFO and
ANFO/emulsion blends to ensure product stability and sleep
times are not adversely affected. Initial in-field product performance was measured via Velocity of
Detonation (VoD) results when benchmarked against VoD for
standard diesel fueled products. For ‘in-field’ product verification
of VoD, ShotTrackTM was used. Extended monitoring of product
use and MPU maintenance was implemented onsite to ensure
there was no operational impact of converting to the waste oil
fuel blend product.

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Dyno Nobel Inc. and Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Limited (ACN 003 269 010) are subsidiaries of Incitec Pivot Limited (ACN 004 080 264) Level 8, 28 Freshwater Place,
Southbank Vic 3006.
® DYNO, GROUNDBREAKING PERFORMANCE, DYNOCONSULT and the DC device are registered trademarks of the Dyno Nobel / Incitec Pivot Group.
™ CREATENERGY is a trademark of CREATENERGY PTY LTD. SHOTTRACK is a trademark of ShotTrack Pty Ltd.
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