Consolidated Edison Co. of New York will supply Hydrodecs new transformer oil rerefinery in Canton, Ohio, with a minimum of 450,000 gallons of used transformer oil per year for three years starting from Jan. 1, 2009, under an agreement announced Monday.
The utility company provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y.
Once the transformer oil becomes degraded, it is removed and replaced, said David Roche, a senior scientist in Con Edisons environmental health and safety group. In the past, our used oil was burned for its fuel value. Committing to eliminate this practice, Con Edison chose Hydrodec to help manage our used oil in a sustainable way.
This agreement will provide Hydrodec with a significant amount of feedstock for our operations and shows acceptance of the Hydrodec technology as well as its green credentials in the United States, said Hydrodec chairman John Gunn.
Commercial production started in October at the Canton rerefinery, a 22,000 square foot plant with capacity of 8 million gallons per year. Hydrodec said it expects to get its feedstock from three main sources: utilities, waste oil dealers and transformer manufacturers. The company has said it is also evaluating possible treatment of other specialty oils for recycling, such as hydraulic oils.