How do you refine waste engine oil?

Different recycling techniques have been proposed for refining of used lubricating oils. During
refining, the chemical, physical and mechanical impurities are removed with the following
processes: distillation, acidic refining, clay treatment and hydrogenation. Theses processes give
different yield and product
What is the process of recycling oil?

Recycling oil is akin to doing the laundry or taking a bath. Through a variety of processes,
impurities are removed from used oil so that it can be repurposed again and again. ... Re-
refining into base stock for new lubricating oil - Re-refined oil is dewatered, distilled and hydro-
treated to remove contaminant
ecycling of used lubricating oil by solvent extraction: experimental results, Aspen Plus
simulation and feasibility study

Nancy Zgheib & Hosni Takache

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy volume 23, pages 65–76 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

This study investigates the recycling of used lubricating oil (ULO) by solvent extraction using a
ternary solvent consisting of 2-propanol, 1-butanol and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) followed by
a vacuum distillation unit. In order to select the best combination of solvents for the liquid–liquid
extraction process, many parameters were first evaluated on a laboratory scale such as the effect
of the solvent composition, the solvent-to-oil ratio and the temperature. The oil recovery
efficiency and the physicochemical properties of the oil obtained from the extraction process
were measured, and the results showed that a ternary system consisting of 50% 1-butanol/25%
isopropanol/25% MEK is the best mixture for effectively reducing the contaminants in ULO
with a good sludge separation prior to the fractionation. Also, a solvent-to-oil ratio of 3:1 and a
temperature of 25 °C are the optimal parameters for the extraction when the aforementioned
solvent mixture is used. The whole re-refining process including the vacuum distillation unit was
then simulated for a plant capacity of 2125 kg/h using Aspen Plus™. Four pseudo-components
(saturate, monoaromatic, diaromatic and polyaromatic) together with the nonrandom two-liquid
(NRTL) and universal quasichemical activity coefficient (UNIQUAC) were used to describe the
liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) in the system solvent/lubricating oils during the extraction
phase. The calculated yields on the extraction unit performed for different solvent composition,
solvent-to-oil ratio and temperature showed a good agreement with the experimental data
performed at the laboratory scale which verifies the right choice of the solvent mixture. The
investigation of the amount and composition of oil loss inside the sludge obtained from the
simulation showed that the contaminant reduction and the oil recovery depend on the percentage
of 1-butanol in the solvent mixture. Also, the results confirmed that the amount of MEK and 2-
propanol in the solvent mixture should not exceed 25% and the best results were obtained when
1-butanol was used as a base solvent with an amount of 50%. Finally, to check the feasibility of
the process, the investment payback time and the return on investment of the re-refining process
were evaluated. Based on the economic study results, the production process was found to be
highly profitable with a return on investment equal to 55% and a payout period of 1.9 years in
the worst-case scenario where the price of lubricating oil is 2.5 $/L.
Graphic abstract