To speak of coolant is to speak of a little-known but essential resource in any machining shop. At first glance, it may appear to be just another fluid, but its presence determines the quality, safety and continuity of production. Its management is not an ancillary issue: it affects everything from tool life to energy efficiency and the environmental footprint of our plant.

In recent years, the debate on industrial waste has gained prominence and with it comes a key question: How do we move from a throwaway model to one of recovery and revaluation? Coolant is an example of the challenges and opportunities of the circular economy applied to day-to-day manufacturing.

Within this framework, Cator’s role is to propose a proven and traceable path. Circularity, understood in a practical way, can transform the way plants conceive and manage this fluid.

What is coolant and why is it important to manage it correctly?

Coolant, also called cutting oil or cutting fluid, is governed by RD 679/2006 regulating the management of used industrial oils and accompanies machining to fulfill four essential functions: lubricating, cooling, cleaning and protecting. As it works, its composition changes. Maintaining its stability through concentration control, oil separation and microbiological care extends its useful life; when that cycle is exhausted, deciding what to do with the mixture makes the difference between creating more waste or recovering a resource.

This premise leads naturally to the next step: If the coolant combines water and oily components with additives, separating each fraction well is the key to making it useful again and closing the cycle in a meaningful way.

How we treat coolant at Cator’s plant

With this objective in mind, Cator has designed a clear itinerary that combines technical rigor and operational simplicity:

1. Reception and traceability. We record each shipment of drill bits and verify documentation from the first movement to ensure compliance and control.
2. Physical separation: In our Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) we apply filtration, decantation and evaporation techniques to divide and separate the oily fraction from the aqueous fraction.
3. Oil regeneration: The oily fraction enters the used oil regeneration process where, after treatment, recycled lubricant bases suitable for new industrial uses are obtained.
4. Water reuse: The aqueous fraction is treated to finally feed the plant’s internal processes and consumption.

Circularity of the drill bit in action

The used coolant arrives as a heterogeneous flow; after separation, each part finds its way: the oil returns as a recycled lubricant base and the conditioned water is integrated into our internal consumption. Thus, what used to end up as waste becomes a resource, contributing to a more efficient, sustainable and circular operation.

The difference between “eliminate” and “valorize” is perceived on three reinforcing levels:

– Matter: Decreases the amount of waste destined for final treatment and increases the recovery of useful fractions.

– Resources: Reuse of both used oil and water, thus avoiding the extraction of virgin resources.

– Impact. By reducing transport and final treatment, we reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG).

Overall, the circularity we apply and showcase of the coolant is a practical demonstration of how the industry can move towards more efficient, responsible production aligned with sustainability principles without losing sight of day-to-day operations.