7854 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

2005, 44, 7854-7859

Waste Oil Recycling Using Mixtures of Polar Solvents

Jesusa Rincón,*,† Pablo Cañizares,‡ and Marı́a Teresa Garcı́a§
Departamento de Ingenierı́a Quı́mica, Universidad de CastillasLa Mancha, España

By the proper selection of components and compositions, a composite solvent to recover base oil
from used lubricant oil has been formulated. The composite solvent has two single components:
methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and 2-propanol. The best extraction results were obtained when the
single solvents selected were mixed at a 2-propanol/MEK ratio of 3 g/g. However, this solvent
was still unable to completely remove metals and oxidation products. To solve this problem,
very small quantities of KOH (from 1 to 7 g/(kg of solvent)) were added to the composite solvent
and its effect on both the extraction yields and the quality of the oil recovered was determined.
A KOH concentration of 2 g/(kg of solvent) was found to be the most appropriate. The vacuum
distilled oil pretreated with this solvent (2-propanol/MEK at a weight ratio of 3 g/g with 2 (g of
KOH)/(kg of solvent)) was almost similar to a SN-130 virgin oil and, therefore, suitable for the
formulation of new lubricants.

1. Introduction plored based on the belief that, by proper selection of

Waste lubricant oil constitutes a serious pollution
problem. It may contaminate water and earth if dis-
charged to the environment and cause air pollution if
burnt as a low-grade fuel. Therefore, both the elimina-
tion of a pollution source and the need of preserving
crude oil reserves justify the interest in the recycling of
waste oil.
Most of modern recycling processes consist of the
following sequence of operations:1-3 dehydration and
light hydrocarbon removal by distillation at atmospheric
pressure or light vacuum, separation of base oil from
contaminant agents by high vacuum distillation
(10-30 mmHg), and finishing of the base oil separated
in the preceding step by hydrogenation. The second step
has several problems related to fouling of heating and
distillation equipment and cracking reactions, which
usually create both unpleasant smells (mercaptanes)
and low-quality base oils (poor stability, color, and
smell). However, these problems may be overcome by
introducing a pretreatment step before the vacuum
distillation as, for example, extraction with solvents.
In a previous paper, we showed that, effectively, the
treatment of waste oils with single organic solvents such
as ketones and alcohols before distillation at high
vacuum was an interesting alternative.4 More specifi-
cally, it was shown that the flocculating action and sub-
sequent impurities removal promoted by the single
solvents studied could be correlated with several char-
acteristics of the solvents such as the difference in the
solubility parameters of the solvents and of a typical
base oil and the polarity and viscosity of the solvents.
In this paper, all these principles will be applied to
find a more efficient solvent. Thus, the action of mix-
tures of single solvents (composite solvent) will be ex-
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 34-
925-26 88 00. Fax: 34-925-26 88 40. E-mail: Jesusa.Rincon@
uclm.es.
†
Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, Avda, Carlos
III s/n, 45071 Toledo, España.
‡ separated after extraction (base oil and sludge) was
Facultad de Ciencias Quı́micas, Avda, Camilo José Cela,
10 13004 C Real, España.
§
Escuela Universitaria Politécnica de Almadén, Plaza Man-
uel Meca, 1 13400 Almadén (C. Real), España.
10.1021/ie0580452 CCC: $30.25 © 2005 American Chemical Society
Published on Web 08/26/2005
components and compositions, one can find formulations
having a more favorable balance of the above-mentioned
properties.
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Materials. The organic solvents used were meth-
yl ethyl ketone and 2-propanol. They were supplied by
Panreac, S. A. Used lubricant oil was supplied by
Emgrisa, S. A. Prior to the runs, the oil was treated in
a rotary evaporator at 60 °C under vacuum (600 mmHg)
to eliminate water and light hydrocarbons. Both types
of compounds are undesirable for the formulation of new
lubricants and may modify the solubility parameters of
the base oil components in the solvent. Used oil proper-
ties after this treatment are shown in Table 1. As stated
in the Introduction, this is a common processing stage
of the oil before distillation at high vacuum (10-30
mmHg) to obtain the base oil.
2.2. Extraction Procedure. Mixtures of ∼10 g of
used oil and solvent in weight proportions ranging from
1/1 to 15/1 solvent/oil were agitated to ensure adequate
mixing for 30 min.4 Then, the mixtures were poured into
glass centrifugal tubes that were later introduced in the
support of a centrifuge (Selecta/Mixtasel). After cen-
trifugation at 400 rpm for 10 min, a sludge phase
(additive, impurities, and carbonaceous particles) was
segregated from the mixture of solvent and oil. The
solvent was separated from the solvent/oil mixture by
distillation at 40 °C in a rotary evaporator under
vacuum (100 mmHg), and the recovered oil was weighed.
The extraction yield was calculated as the mass of oil,
expressed in grams, separated from 100 g of waste oil.
The sludge phase was also weighed in all experiments,
both before and after solvent evaporation in a heater
at 110 °C, where the sludge was maintained until its
weight remained constant. It was observed that, on a
solvent-free basis, the difference between the mass of
raw used oil extracted and those of the two phases
always <1%.
2.3. Analysis of the Metallic Content. Prior to the
analyses, the extracted oil was heated at 200 °C for 4 h
 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 20, 2005 7855

Table 1. Comparison of Crude Used Oil and Two Differently Treated Used Oils
used oil vacuum-distilled vacuum-distilled
used extracted with oil pretreated with oil without extraction
characteristic oil P-3/MEK-1/KOH-2a P-3/MEK-1/KOH-2a pretreatment
viscosity at 40 °C (ASTM D-445), cSt 93.98 28.76 25.84 33.47
viscosity at 100 °C (ASTM D-445), cSt 13.11 5.02 4.81 5.71
sulphur (ASTMD-4294), % 0.66 0.55 0.53 0.60
phosphorus (FRX), ppm 835 480 456 490
acid numberb, (mg of KOH)/g 3.36 <0.05 <0.05 0.82
metallic content, ppm
Zn 947 155 3 27.5
Pb 850 163 6 16.2
Ca 2000 301 7 242
Fe 35 23 <1 23
a P-3/MEK-1/KOH-2: Mixture of 2-propanol/methyl ethyl ketone (3:1 g/g) with 2 (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent). b The acid number is an

indirect measure of the concentration of oxidation compounds.

Table 2. Summary of the Results Obtained with Single Solvents

solvent propertya or extraction resultsb 2-propanol 2-butanol 2-pentanol MEKc MPKc
solub. param., 103 (J/mol3)1/2 5.6 5.3 5.2 4.5 3.9
viscosity (25 °C), cP 2.0 3.7 5.1 0.41 0.51
polarity, (water ) 100) 54.6 50.6 32.7 31.3
optimum S/Od, g/g 10 10 10 7 5
yield, % 78.6 92.1 95.3 91.0 95.5
acid numbere, (mg of KOH)/g 1.1 2.3 2.9 2.5 2.9
metal concentration, ppm
Zn 333 666 700 688 936
Pb 246 282 487 350 443
Ca 235 429 1772 450 1798
Fe 11 19 20 13 18
a Obtained from refs 29 and 30. b Extraction conditions: T ) 25 °C, solvent/oil ) 10 g/g, extraction time ) 30 min. c MEK ) methyl

ethyl ketone and MPK ) methyl n-propyl ketone. d Optimum S/O: solvent/oil ratio at which extraction yield stabilizes. e The acid number
is an indirect measure of the concentration of oxidation compounds.

and calcined at 650 °C overnight. The noncombustible 3. Results and Discussion

residue obtained (ashes) was further treated with
hydrochloric acid, filtered, and diluted with deionized
water to determine the metallic content. These analyses
were performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy using
a Varian Spectra 220 FS spectrometer. Since dry ashing
could have caused some elements to be lost by volatil-
ization,5 we checked and found comparable the results
of our first three analyses by this method versus those
obtained when using the U.S. EPA (Environmental
Protection Agency) Method 3051 for the analysis of
these metals in sediments, sludges, soils, and oils.
The concentration of metals in the sludge was deter-
mined only in some preliminary experiments, just to
know that amount of metals in the raw used oil was
the sum of the amounts of metals in the two phases
separated by extraction: base oil and sludge.
2.4. Analysis of the Oxidation Products. Oxida-
tion compounds were determined following a two-step
procedure. First, the presence of oxidation products in
the extracts was investigated qualitatively by obtaining
their IR spectra in a Perkin-Elmer 16 PC FT-IR spec-
trophotometer. A spectral band at 1700 cm-1 indicated
the presence of oxidation compounds, because of the fact
that the CdO bond strongly absorbs at this wavelength.6
Then, when their presence was confirmed, their relative
concentrations in the extracts were determined by
measuring the extract acid number according to the
ASTMD-664 method.2,7
2.5. Other Analyses. Phosphorus content was mea-
sured by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectros-
copy using a Oxford ED200 spectrometer. Sulfur content
and viscosities at 40 and 100 °C were determined
according to ASTMD-4294 and ASTMD-445 procedures,
respectively.
The solvents to recover base oil from waste lubricant
oil must have two important properties. On one hand,
they should be miscible with the base oil contained in
the waste oil being processed, and on the other hand,
when mixed with the waste oil, they must reject from
the solution the used oil impurities (dispersed particles,
fresh or spent additives, degraded base oil, etc.), allow-
ing their aggregation to particle sizes big enough to
separate from the liquid by sedimentation. Therefore,
in the formulation of composite solvents for the extrac-
tion of base oil, it seems appropriate to select a “basic
component” miscible with the base oil and a “flocculating
component” that either promotes or improves the seg-
regation and flocculation of waste oil impurities, de-
pending on if the basic component has the capability of
doing it.
In previous works,4,7 it has been found that several
single alcohols and ketones (2-propanol, 2-butanol,
2-pentanol, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl n-propyl
ketone) exhibiting the properties mentioned above have
potential utility in the extraction process for base oil
recovery. When mixed with the waste lubricant oil, they
dissolve the desired base oil, and part of the unwanted
materials (which form large flakes that settle by gravity)
are segregated from the solution. A summary of the
results obtained is shown in Table 2. They have been
used to select the best two components of the composite
solvent.
First, it should be pointed out that the single solvents
of Table 2 were selected based on a three-stage strategy,
considering: (1)Burrell’s classification of solvents;8 (2)
the existing background on the regeneration of waste
oil extraction;9-18 and (3) the selectivity or capacity of
the solvent to selectively extract base oil from waste oil.
7856 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 20, 2005
Here, based on the properties of the solvents and the
results obtained in the extractions performed with the
solvents (see Table 2), we will try to select the best
components and composition of the composite solvent
to recover base oil from used lubricant oil.
The basic component should be soluble with the base
oil at the operation temperature, and therefore, 2-pro-
panol, having less than four carbon atoms, should be
excluded.15 As regards the other solvents, since ketones
have lower solubility parameter, polarity, and viscosity
than alcohols (Table 2), they turn up as the first choice.
On the other hand, extraction yields in Table 2 support
this proposal. Furthermore, at industrial scale, the
lower value of the optimum solvent/oil ratio of ketones
(Table 2) will minimize the costs of equipment and
operation of extraction and solvent recovery by distil-
lation. In relation to the best ketone, methyl n-propyl
ketone (MPK), the heaviest one, would be preferred to
methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), since it will better dissolve
the base oil. However, as shown in Table 2, it also better
dissolves the used oil impurities (metallic and acid
compounds), and for this reason, it should be discarded.
In short, single-solvent properties and extraction results
suggest that MEK is the best candidate to become the
basic component of the composite solvent.
As noted above, the flocculating component should
promote fast flocculation of used oil impurities at
operating conditions. According to Alves dos Reis and
Silva,15 the flocculating action and subsequent impuri-
ties removal promoted by one-component solvents may
be correlated with the difference in the solubility
parameters of the solvent and polyisobutylene, a typical
polyolefine used in motor oil additive packages. As this
difference increases, the efficiency at removing impuri-
ties also increases. Since these differences are higher
for alcohols,16 ketones should be the second choice when
selecting the flocculating component of the composite
solvent. Data in Table 2 also support this hypothesis:
when comparing alcohols and ketones of similar chain
length, the impurities level (metallic and acid com-
pounds) of the base oil extracted with alcohols was
lower. As regards the best alcohol, solvent parameter
data shown in Table 2 suggest that 2-propanol would
be a better flocculating agent than 2-butanol and
2-pentanol. Metal concentrations and acid numbers of
base oil extracted with these alcohols, also shown in
Table 2, lend support to this statement.
In summary, to improve the quality of the base oil
extracted from the used lubricant oil without renouncing
high extraction yields, the use of a composite solvent
constituted by MEK as the basic component and 2-pro-
panol as the flocculating agent is proposed.
3.1. Mixtures of Propanol/MEK: Yield and Qual-
ity of the Base Oil. To find the optimum composition
of the composite solvent, organic solvents 2-propanol
and MEK were mixed at 2-propanol/MEK weight ratios
equal to 1, 3, and 5 g/g. From now we will refer to these
mixtures as P-1/MEK-1, P-3/MEK-1, and P-5/MEK-1.
The waste oil extractions were performed with these
three composite solvents at conditions selected in refs
4 and 5: T ) 25 °C; solvent/oil ratio (S/O) ) 2, 5, 7, 10,
and 15 g/g; and t ) 30 min.
First of all, the accuracy of the experimental extrac-
tion yields was determined by comparing the results
from four independent runs carried out under identical
conditions (solvent ) P-3/MEK-1, S/O ) 10/1 g/g, T )
25 °C, and t ) 30 min). In these experiments, the
Figure 1. Effect of the solvent/oil ratio on the extraction yields.
extraction yields were similar (87.7, 87.5, 87.8, and
87.7%), indicating that the reproducibility of the data
was good. Nevertheless, to minimize experimental er-
rors, each run was replicated twice.
Then, the effect of the solvent/oil ratio on the yield of
the extracted oil was determined. Figure 1 shows that,
as in the case of single solvents, the extraction yields
increase with increasing solvent/oil ratio up to a point
at which they stabilize (7 g/g for all composite solvents),
smoothly with MEK and P-1/MEK-1 and steeply with
P-3/MEK-1, P-5/MEK-1, and 2-propanol. It can also be
observed in Figure 1 that the yields attained with the
composite solvents are between those of pure solvents
and increase with the proportion of MEK and that yield
stabilization occurs at a solvent/oil ratio similar to that
of pure MEK (7 g/g) and smaller than that for pure
2-propanol (10 g/g).
The reason extraction yields increase with increasing
solvent/oil ratios and then stabilize is probably due to
the fact that, at the smaller ratios, the solvents saturate
and do not dissolve all base oil present. With increasing
solvent/oil ratios, the base oil dissolved increases, but
only up to a ratio at which the base oil fraction that
each solvent may dissolve is exhausted; consequently,
from this moment, the extraction yield will not increase
anymore. As regards the fact that yield stabilization
occurred with MEK and composite solvents at solvent/
oil ratios lower than those with 2-propanol, it could be
attributed to the fact that the ketone and their mixtures
have a smaller viscosity, polarity, and solubility param-
eter than those of the alcohol. To these factors it may
also be imputed that extraction yields increase with the
proportion of MEK in the mixture once that stabilization
has been reached.
As regards the quality of the oil extracted with the
composite solvents, Table 3 compares the concentration
of metals and oxidation products (acid number) attained
with the solvents when the optimum solvent/oil ratio
was used in the extractions. As expected, it can be
observed that the quality of the extracted oil decreases
as the proportion of MEK in the solvent is raised, just
as see with the extraction yield increase. Furthermore,
Table 3 shows that both the extraction yield and the
quality of the oils extracted with P-1/MEK-1 are very
close to those obtained with pure MEK, while the
quality values of the oils extracted with P-5/MEK-1 and
P-3/MEK-1 are very similar between them and worse
than that obtained with pure 2-propanol, with the
 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 20, 2005 7857

Table 3. Effect of the Solvent on Extraction Yield and

Quality of the Base Oil Extracted
P-1/MEK-1 P-3/MEK-1 P-5/MEK-1
optimum S/O, g/g 7 7 7
yield (%) 89.8 87.5 84.5
Zn (ppm) 631 512 494
Pb (ppm) 357 315 318
Ca (ppm) 450 416 403
Fe (ppm) 14 11 11
acid number,a 2.15 1.81 1.56
(mg of KOH)/g
a The acid number is an indirect measure of the concentration

of oxidation compounds.

extraction yield with this pure solvent being substan-

tially lower than those with the composite solvents.
According to these results, the mixture P-3/MEK-1
appears as the best one to recover base oil from used
lubricant oil. To make such a statement, we have
Figure 2. Effect of the KOH concentration on the extraction
considered that, in principle, the best solvent would be yields.
that leading to the highest yield (i.e., MEK that allows
obtaining a yield of 91%). However, MEK could be
overtaken by any other solvent provided that solvent
fulfills the following two requirements: (1) it allows an
extraction yield to be obtained that cannot be <5% of
that obtained with MEK and (2) it leads to a reduction
in the concentration of oxidation compounds and metals
in the extracted oil of, at least, 15% in relation to that
attained with MEK. According to the data in Tables 2
and 3, the only solvent fulfilling both requirements is
P-3/MEK-1, and that is why it was chosen as the best
solvent to perform the extractions.
Nevertheless, the base oil recovered with P-3/MEK-1
still contains metals and oxidation products. Metal
compounds are usually removed in the vacuum distil-
lation step of the recycling process and do not represent
any problem.4,7,17-20 However, oxidation products have
Figure 3. Effect of the KOH concentration on the metallic
a boiling temperature range similar to that of the base concentration of the extracted oil.
oil and cannot be separated by distillation.
To solve this problem, the addition of aqueous solu- Table 4. Effect of the KOH Concentration on the Acid
tions of the basic salt of an alkali metal has been Number
proposed.21 Oxidation products removal may be favored, (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent)a acid number,b (mg of KOH)/g
because the basic compound introduced may not only 0 1.91
neutralize the acid compounds of the oil but also induce 1 0.16
their saponification and subsequent precipitation. On 2 0.04
the other hand, in the basic medium resulting after the 3 0.02
base addition, metallic impurities may precipitate as 5 <0.01
metal hydroxides. 7 <0.01
The use of aqueous solutions to eliminate oxidation a Solvent: P-3/MEK-1. b The acid number is an indirect measure

products and heavy metals has been investigated by sev-
eral authors, and important reductions of these impuri-
ties have been reported.21-25 Nevertheless, this treat-
ment may cause problems such as the clogging of lines
by soap, sludge, and polymerization products promoted
by unreacted caustic not removed with the sludge.26-27
It should also be noticed that this process introduces
water to the oil; this water should be eliminated before
the extraction with solvents because it may modify the
solubility parameters of the base oil components.
To overcome these problems, other authors16 have
suggested adding the basic compound directly to the
organic solvent (single or composite) instead of doing it
to water and then adding the aqueous solution to the
oil. In this work, to determine if significative reductions
in the concentrations of metals and oxidation products
can be achieved by this treatment, the effect of adding
KOH directly to the organic solvent on both impurities
removal and base oil yields will be analyzed.
of the concentration of oxidation compounds.
3.2. Mixtures of P-3/MEK-1 with KOH: Yield and
Quality of the Base Oil. Waste oil extractions were
performed at conditions selected for the composite
solvent P-3/MEK-1 (T ) 25 °C, t ) 30 min, S/O ) 7 g/g).
The percentage of KOH added to the organic solvent
was varied between 1 and 7 (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent).
Figures 2 and 3 and Table 4 show the results obtained.
It can be seen in Figure 2 that extraction yields
decrease as the concentration of KOH in the solvent
increases. It may be imputed to two different facts. On
one hand, it should be considered that the basic com-
pound introduced to neutralize the acid compounds of
the waste oil may also induce the formation of soap and
polymers by reaction between the base oil components
and the base added;26,27 on the other hand, what
probably occurs is an increasing destabilization of the
dispersion formed by the base oil and the impurities and
7858 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 44, No. 20, 2005
subsequent precipitation of the unwanted impurities4,7,16
as the concentration of KOH in the organic solvent is
increased. Such destabilization occurs because the -OH
groups of the potassium hydroxide break the hydrogen
bonds between the polar impurities and the dispersant-
detergent additives of the waste oil, additives that are
soluble in both waste oil and organic solvents.2
To confirm this last hypothesis, the quality of the oil
extracted was assessed through the measurement of the
concentrations of oxidation products and metallic com-
pounds. Relative concentrations of the former are shown
in Table 4. It can be seen that the acid number decreases
with increasing KOH concentration and that the con-
centration of oxidation compounds is smaller than that
required for a lubricant oil, i.e., <0.05 mg/g2, when the
concentration of KOH in the solvent is g2 g/kg. As
pointed out earlier, this should be due to both neutral-
ization and saponification followed by precipitation of
acid compounds.
As regards the metals, Figure 3 shows the metallic
content of the base oil extracted with P-3/MEK-1 with
different concentrations of KOH. It can be observed that,
for all metals analyzed, their metallic concentrations in
the oil decrease with increasing KOH concentration.
Since the solubility of a particular metal is directly
controlled by pH,28 it may be imputed to the fact that
the metals react with the hydroxide ions to form metal
hydroxide solids, i.e., the metals remain dissolved in the
solvent/oil mixtures until the pH raises to a level where
precipitation occurs.
In short, since very low quantities of strong base can
be used to neutralize or remove oxidation products and
metallic compounds, it may be concluded that this
treatment is extremely effective at removing oxidation
components from the waste oil without generating large
quantities of treatment waste which create a disposal
or posttreatment problem.
Finally, two more extractions were performed at the
same experimental conditions but using as solvent
2-propanol with 2 (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent) and MEK
with 2 (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent). With 2-propanol, the
extraction yields were lower (∼72%) than those with
P-3/MEK-1 with 2 (g of KOH)/(kg of solvent) (Y ) 76%)
and the quality of the base oil was approximately
similar. With MEK, the yield was almost similar (76.5%)
but the oil quality was worse. In other words, it seems
that the effect of those factors making the composite
solvent P-3/MEK-1 more efficient than the pure organic
solvents still remains after the KOH addition.
3.3. Effect of Extraction Treatment on the Qual-
ity of Vacuum-Distilled Oils. Problems related to
fouling of heating and distillation equipment as well as
to the quality of the base oil obtained by vacuum
distillation had led us to explore the benefits of intro-
ducing a solvent precleaning step of the used oil before
treatment in the high-vacuum distillation units.
Results obtained in this work are shown in Table 1,
where we compare the characteristics of a raw used oil
with two distilled used oils (5 mmHg), one of them
pretreated with P-3/MEK-1 with 2 (g of KOH)/(kg of
solvent). It can be observed that all oil characteristics
notably improve after solvent pretreatment (column 3)
and that, when this oil is subjected to vacuum distilla-
tion (column 4), an oil suitable for formulation of new
lubricants is obtained2. The concentration of oxidation
compounds is lower than that required for a lubricant
oil,2 and its metallic content is almost imperceptible.
Furthermore, sulfur and phosphorus concentrations,
and viscosities at 40 and 100 °C, are similar to those of
an SN-130 virgin oil2, which are 22 cSt at 40 °C and
4.3 cSt at 100 °C. On the contrary, vacuum-distilled oil
without solvent pretreatment (column 5) is still con-
taminated and may not be used in the formulation of
new lubricants without being submitted to a finishing
treatment.
4. Conclusions
By using the proper selection of components and
compositions, a composite solvent to recover base oil
from used lubricant oil has been formulated. The
composite solvent has two single components: a basic
compound miscible with the base oil (MEK) and a
flocculating compound that improves the segregation
and flocculation of the waste oil impurities (2-propanol).
The best extraction results have been obtained when
the single solvents selected were mixed at a 2-propanol/
MEK ratio ) 3 g/g. Nevertheless, the base oil recovered
with this composite solvent still contains metals and
oxidation products that are coextracted together with
the base oil. Metal compounds are usually removed in
the vacuum distillation step of the recycling process and
do not cause any special trouble. However, oxidation
products have a boiling temperature range similar to
that of the base oil and do represent a problem since
they cannot be separated by distillation.
To overcome this problem, very low quantities of
strong base (KOH) have been added to the composite
solvent. It has caused the elimination of the major part
of the oxidation products and metallic compounds.
Oxidation compounds removal occurs because KOH
neutralizes the acid compounds and induces their
saponification and subsequent precipitation. As regards
the metals, in the basic medium resulting after base
addition, metallic impurities precipitate as metal hy-
droxides.
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Received for review May 10, 2005
Revised manuscript received July 21, 2005
Accepted July 25, 2005
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