4 Composition and

Treatment

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Large quantities of used oil are generated each year, which, if properly collected and

processed, can be a valuable energy source or refined to produce usable products

such as new lubricating oil. However, used oil is contaminated with water and other

liquids, halogens, and other elements including heavy metals. It is not surprising

that, in most countries, it is regarded as potentially hazardous waste and must be

handled, processed, and stored appropriately. The transport, storage, and ultimate

use of used oil is governed by a variety of direct and indirect national and international
legislation and industry standards.

Because of the danger to the environment and health from inappropriate management of used
oil and in view of the possible content of problematic foreign substances (such as heavy
metals, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], or other halogen

compounds), used oils require special handling. In fact, in most countries, used oil

is classified as hazardous waste and the collective term used oil includes used and

contaminated mineral oils, oily residues from containers, emulsions, and water–oil

mixtures (Chapter 1). In fact, the quality of used oils is determined mainly, apart

from their content of middle distillates and highly volatile components (ASTM D86;

ASTM D1160; Chapter 1), by the treatment of lubricating oils with additives and the

conditions under which the oils are used.

In industrialized countries, the term used oil may also be defined according to the

means of disposal rather than according to the composition of the material. Whatever

the meaning of the term, used oil is more than likely to contain small quantities of

toxic substances that are liable to degrade the quality of air, soil, and ground water if

it is not handled and disposed of in an appropriate manner.

There are a number of legally approved routes for the disposal of used oil, each
subject to legislation and, as a result of evolving regulations, some of these uses may

become more restrictive as legislation changes. Currently, the main legal disposal

routes are (1) direct combustion/use as fuel, (2) processing to produce secondary

fuels, and (3) re-refining to produce new base oil and other petroleum products—the

reuse route chosen in different countries varies greatly and depends on local energy

policies.

The management of used oil is particularly important because of the large

quantities generated globally, their potential for direct reuse, reprocessing, reclamation and
regeneration, and because they may cause detrimental effects on

the environment if not properly handled, treated, or disposed of. Used lubricating and other
oils represent a significant portion of the volume of organic waste

92

Refining Used Lubricating Oils

liquids generated worldwide. The three most important aspects of used oils in

this context are (1) contaminant content, (2) energy value, and (3) hydrocarbon

properties.

The processing of used oils has been practiced for many years, with organized

recycling of engine lubricating oil from vehicle fleets being well established by the

1930s. Certain used oil streams arising from oil refinery sites have been fed into socalled
crude ponds. A portion of the materials that have accumulated in these ponds

have been recycled.

Briefly, it must not be forgotten that the prime objective in the production

of lubricating oil is the separation of wax distillate and cylinder stock without

any decomposition or cracking of the lubrication oil fractions; thus, a vacuum

distillation unit is used to separate the wax distillate and the bottom stock at a

lower temperature (Chapter 1). The properties that make the high-boiling paraffin
hydrocarbons suitable for lubricating oil manufacture include (1) stability at
high temperatures, (2) fluidity at low temperature, (3) only a moderate change in

viscosity over a broad temperature range, and (4) sufficient adhesiveness to keep

the oil in place under high shear forces. The desired fractions for the manufacture

of the lubricating oil have high boiling points, and its separation into various boiling point
range cuts must be accomplished under reduced pressure (Chapter 1).

The vacuum tower produces some fuel oil overhead, which is sold as a separate

product or sent to another area of the refinery for further processing and blending.

The two main products from the vacuum tower are wax distillate and cylinder

stock, which is the bottom product—each stream contains a number of desirable

lubricating oil constituents as well as by-products. The wax distillate is charged

directly to the dewaxing unit. The vacuum tower bottoms, or cylinder stock, are

charged to the deasphalting unit. These two fractions form the basic stock for

lubricating oil manufacture (Speight and Ozum 2002; Hsu and Robinson 2006;

Gary et al. 2007; Speight 2014).

In the context of this book, used oil is any semisolid or liquid used product consisting totally
or partially of mineral oil or synthesized hydrocarbons (synthetic oils;

Chapters 1 and 3). Thus, used oil is oil arising from industrial and nonindustrial

sources in which the oil has been used for lubricating, hydraulic, heat transfer, electrical
insulating (dielectric), or other purposes and whose original characteristics

have changed during use, thereby rendering the oil unsuitable for further use for the

purpose for which the oil was originally intended.

In terms of the terminology used for used oil regeneration, there are four commonly

used terms: (1) recycling, (2) reprocessing, (3) reclamation, and (4) regeneration.

Recycling is the commonly used generic term for the reprocessing, reclaiming,

and regeneration (re-refining) of used oils using an appropriate selection of physical

and chemical methods of treatment.

Reprocessing usually involves treatment to remove insoluble contaminants and

oxidation products from used oils such as by heating, settling, filtering, dehydrating, and
centrifuging. Depending on the quality of the resultant material, this can

be followed by blending with base oils and additives to bring the oil back to its

original or an equivalent specification. Reprocessed oil is generally returned to its

original use.

Reclamation usually involves treatment to separate solids and water from a variety of used
oils. The methods used may include heating, filtering, dehydrating, and

Centrifuging. Reclaimed oil is generally used as a fuel or fuel extender.

Regeneration involves the production of base oils from used oils as a result of

Processes which remove contaminants, oxidation products, and additives, i.e.,

Re-refining involving the production of base oils for the manufacture of lubricating products.
These processes include predistillation, treatment with acids, solvent

Extraction, contact with activated clay, and hydrotreating (Audibert 2006; Udonne

2011; Emam and Shoaib 2012). These methods should not be confused with the simpler
methods of treating oils, such as those described under reclamation.

Used oils originate from diverse sources. These include petroleum refining, the

Forming and machining of metals, small generators (do-it-yourself car and other

Equipment maintenance) and industrial sources, oil and gas well drilling operations,

And the rural farming population. Collecting used oil from nonindustrial sources

And local/small generators is very difficult and requires a well-established and efficient
infrastructure to accomplish the task. In this regard, it is important to develop

Adequate reuse or recycling options, to properly handle the collected volume of oil,

To address the specific properties of the concerned waste, and to assess the degree to

Which used oils could be treated.

Used lubricating oil is routinely collected from gasoline/petrol-fueled engines

During maintenance operations. Used motor oils consist of the base petroleumderived oil
contaminated with low levels of combustion products, which appear over

Time during the course of engine use. Used lubricating oil may become mixed with
A wide variety of materials. How the resulting mixture is regulated can vary greatly

Depending on the type of material that is mixed with the used oil.

In general, used oils are not volatile and do not present a significant inhalation

Health hazard. Some components are hazardous, including the type of base oil used

To formulate the unused product, as well as accumulated polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons.

Prolonged and repeated skin contact must be avoided. Used oils may also

Contain residual amounts of additives that are eye and skin irritants, and possibly

Sensitizers.

Used lubricating oils retain a high energy potential. However, the hazards and

Costs associated with collecting, storing, transporting, and general handling of the

Used oil has limited the efforts to collect used motor oil for disposal or recycling.

Although previous methods provide limited processing of used motor oil for other

Petroleum products, there remains a need to improve the procedure of converting

Used motor oil to a high-quality energy source.

Lubricating oil undergoes a range of chemical and physical transformations

During routine in-service operation, and oil transformations continue after being

Released into the environment. Some components of lubricating oil, particularly used

Oils, are considered a threat to public health and the environment.

In fact, used lubricating oil is a complex mixture of paraffinic, naphthenic, and

Aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons that may contain one or more of the following:

(1) Carbon deposits, (2) sludge, (3) aromatic and nonaromatic solvents, (4) water, as

A water-in-oil emulsion, (5) glycols, (6) wear metals and metallic salts, (7) siliconbased
antifoaming compounds, (8) fuels, (9) polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and (10)
miscellaneous lubricating oil additives. In the unlikely event that used transformer oils are
mixed with other used oils, then PCBs and polychlorinated terphenyl

derivatives may also be present.