Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A gold mine
Acknowledgement: United Nations Environment Programme: IETC-Osaka, Japan
K. R. Chari
Professor, Operations Management
Birla Institute of Management Technology
Greater Noida, U.P. - India
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Inspiring Statements have a detrimental effect on the environment, if not prop- through recycled oils. There are different methods used by can be converted into useful products, including base oils
erly handled, treated or disposed of. different countries for recycling used oils. It has been es- for further processing into lubricating oils or fuel.
• “One gallon of used motor oil (waste oil) provides
tablished that almost 85 to 90% of dehydrated waste oils
the same 2.5 quarts of lubricating oil as 42 gallons of A large range of waste oils can be recycled and recovered Types of Facilities that Generate Waste Oils
crude oil.” (The conversion ratio can be taken as 1 US in a variety of ways, either directly or after some form of
gallon = 4 quarts, or we may say every litre of waste separation and refinement. In keeping with the waste man-
oil gives 0.63 litre of lubricating oil) agement hierarchy, the first option is to conserve the origi-
nal properties of the oil, allowing for direct reuse. Other
• The used oil from one oil change can contaminate 1
options include recovering its heating value and/or using
million gallons of fresh water—a years’ supply for 50
in other lower-level applications. Certain types of waste
people.
oils, lubricants in particular, can be reprocessed, allow-
• Oils and fats are an essential part of every day for ing for their direct reuse. After treatment, waste oils can
many people. It is an unfortunate fact that many peo- be used either as a lube base stock comparable to refined
ple simply discard waste oil such as that used in cars. virgin base oil or as clean burning fuel. Waste oils and
• Waste oils come from more than petroleum sources; residues from recycling processes which cannot be reused
they also come from animals and plants. Recycling in any way need to be disposed of in an environmentally
waste oils reduces society’s impact on the environ- sound manner.
ment and helps the economy.
• Re-refining used oil takes only about one-third the en-
Impact of Waste Oils on Health and the Envi-
ergy of refining crude oil to lubricant quality.
ronment
• One litre of waste oil processed for fuel contains about
9,300 Kcals of heat energy, and most important of all, The contaminants in waste oils have adverse impacts on
assists in conserving crude reserves, while minimis- both human health and the environment. The presence of
ing unemployment through the building/construction degraded additives, contaminants and by-products of deg-
of used lubricating oil recycling plants and eliminating radation render waste oils more toxic and harmful to hu-
used lubricants as a factor contributing to environmen- man health and the environment than virgin base oils. Oil
tal pollution. concentrations as low as 1 ppm can contaminate drinking
water. For mammals and birds, harmful impacts include
• Thus management of waste oils/re-refining has an toxic contamination, destruction of food resources and
economic advantage apart from being a solution for habitats and impaired reproductive capability. In addition,
disposal with little or no effect on human health or the oil vapors are toxic for some species and may damage their
environment. central nervous systems, lungs, and livers. Ingesting oil
Sources: US EPA, Used Oil Management Program, may also adversely impact the ability of animals to digest
food and furthermore damage their intestinal tract. Oil re-
duces the insulating capacity of furs and the water repel-
lency of feathers, which places some animals at the risk of
Recycling and Destruction Technologies for freezing or drowning.
Waste Oils
The recycling of used lubricants has been practiced to var-
Technologies for recycling, reprocessing and destroying ious degrees since the 1930s and particularly during the
waste oils are not widely available in developing countries. Second World War, when the scarcity of adequate supplies
As a result, technology choices, when they are made, may of crude oil encouraged the reuse of all types of materials,
not be well-informed, resulting in poor or uneconomic out- including lubricants. In the earlier part of the 20th century,
comes. The use of obsolete or inappropriate technologies lubricating oils contained few or no additives at all. Recy-
also results in serious environmental issues due to toxic air cling these oils usually involved some basic and simple pro-
emissions and discharges of hazardous solid wastes. cesses which were a combination of heating to remove volatile
components; settling to separate water, dirt, and sludge; and
Mineral oils, whether extracted from crude oil or manufac-
centrifuging or filtering to remove most of the remaining in-
tured as synthetic oils, are used for a wide variety of pur-
soluble contaminants. While this limited processing could not
poses ranging from lubrication to heat and power transfer, bring recycled oils to match the original oil quality, technologi-
metal cutting and so on. Depending upon the application cal improvements now enable recycled oils to be at par
and operating environment, these oils become contaminat- with virgin oils in quality.
ed and/or degraded and thus need to be discarded, result-
ing in the generation of waste oils (used oils). Such waste In recent years environmental considerations regarding the
oils are classified as hazardous waste and under the Basel conservation of resources have further boosted interest in
Convention fall under categories Y8 and Y9. recycling. Recent developments, in particular the empha-
sis on waste recovery, have led to further renewed inter-
The management of waste oils is particularly important est in recycling used oils. In some developed countries
because of the large quantities generated globally through up to 50% of the countries’ need for lubricating oil is met
transport and industrial activities. These waste oils may
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Need for Regulations and Legislation sists of various world-renowned lubricant manu-
facturers, namely BPCastrol, CEPSA lubricantes,
Legislation and regulations constitute an important
part of the management of waste oils. Individual
Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Fuchs, GALP, Kuwait Waste oil generation, collection and re-refining cycle
Petroleum, Lotos Oil, LUKOIL, Neste Oil, ORLEN
countries may design their own statutes in accord-
OIL, PETRONAS, REPSOL, Shell, SK Lubricants,
ance with local needs, not withstanding the fact that
Statoil Lubricants, Total, UEIL (Union Indépendante
the environmental impact of waste oils is a global and
de I’Industrie Européenne des Lubrifiants) and Val-
trans-boundary issue.
voline.
In designing appropriate regulations, it may be advis-
Legislation relating to lubricating oils has been r e-
able to refer to some regulations and guidelines de-
viewed at the European level and also within indi-
signed by various state and country agencies such as
vidual member states. This section examines existing
“A Guidebook for Implementing Curbside and Drop-
legislation and the background to current develop-
off Used Motor Oil Collection Programs,” written by
ments, drawing heavily on the findings compiled in a
the Washington Citizens for Recycling Foundation,
2009 report by the ATIEL Used Oil Technical Com-
February 1992, “A manual for community used oil re-
mittee.
cycling programs of the Pennsylvania (USA) Energy
Office, or in the case of Australia, guidelines used by
Transpacific, one of the largest waste oil collectors, Waste Oil Management Programs
which reprocesses waste oil collected from thousands
of clients. They operate under an externally certified Various countries have designed their own systems for
management of waste oils. The salient features and action
Integrated Management System meeting the require-
points of such efforts in selected countries are depicted in
ments of key Australian standards for quality, envi-
Table below.
ronment and occupational health and safety.
Features of waste oil management programs in various
In Europe, ATIEL is a body whose membership con- countries
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demonstrated that re-refined oils using modern technology pro- 8. STP Process tries when deciding whether or not to introduce environ- News Update...
duce a safe product, including consideration of carcinogenicity. 9. Degussa Process (Transformer Oil Recycling) mentally sound technologies (EST). At the same time, a
certain degree of leniency is worth considering in the case
The principle of recycling waste oils utilises many of the 10. Buss Luwa Vacuum Distillation/Clay Filtration Pro-
of developing countries. The regulations can be continu-
following basic steps: cess
ously strengthened as stringency is fortified gradually.
11. BERC/NIPER Hydrogenation
• Removal of water and solid particles by settling In developing/underdeveloped countries, there may be a
12. Phillips Petroleum Company PROP: Hydrogenation
• Sulphuric acid treatment to remove gums, greases, etc. lack of awareness among the general public or insufficient
Technology
infrastructure to support a large or medium industry.
• Alkaline treatment to neutralise acid 13. Entra Process
It is suggested that developing countries choose a simpler
• Water washing to remove “soap” 14. ORYX Process: Vacuum Distillation
re-refining technology (e.g. vacuum distillation followed
• Stripping to drive off moisture and volatile oils; vacu- 15. CEP Process
LafargeHolcim
by clay treating), which has lower investment needs. The
um distillation and/or solvent extraction 16. Vaxon Process management of waste oils through such relatively less eco-
17. MeinkenTechnology friendly technologies may have a better effect than from
• Clay contacting to bleach the oil and absorb impurities
not having any management system in place for waste oils.
• Filtering to remove clay and other solids
18. Atomic Vacuum Distillation Technology
19. BlowDec Technology Other generic technologies based on vacuum distillation Receives Revised CCI
• Hydrogenation to improve colour and extraction followed by hydrogenation are capital inten-
• Blending to specification
20. Dunwell Process
21. Interline Re-refining Process
sive and are viable for lager capacities (say, above 10,000
MT per annum). Although waste oil may be available in
Divestment Order
Generic Technologies for recycling waste oils Advanced Waste Oil Recycling Technologies
large quantities, availability may be very thinly distributed
over a larger geographic region, making it economically from India
unviable to collect and transport. Most developing coun-
Over time, the re-refining processes are advancing and
1. Thermal Cracking Based tries may not have enough raw material to support these
thus improving, especially from the aspects of yield and
2. Springs Oil Conversion (SOC) large capacities. All hydrogen based technologies are out
reduced environmental impacts. The most common of the LafargeHolcim announced that it has received a re-
3. Great Northern Processing Inc. (GNP) Thermal Crack- of context here as even some developed countries have not
generic systems are: vised order of the Competition Commission of India
ing Process (Propak Process) adopted these insofar as they are highly capital intensive
• Acid-clay Re-refining and they also carry higher operating costs. Ultra-filtration (CCI) for the divestment of its interest in Lafarge In-
4. Environmental Oil Processing Technology based technologies at present have yet to gain a significant dia, including three cement plants and two grinding
• Acid Activated Clay Technology
5. EADIEMAC Process for Recycling of Used Lubricat- presence even in the developed world. stations with a total capacity of around 11 million tons
• Vacuum Distillation/Evaporation Technology per annum. The company also markets aggregates and
ing Oils
• Hydrogenation Based Technologies is one of India’s leading ready-mix concrete manufac-
• Ultra-Filtration Technology turers. The proposed transaction is an alternate remedy
Socio-economic Implications of Recycling
• Extraction Based Technologies Selection of Appropriate Technology for the merger of the Group’s legacy companies and
As detailed in the following section, the destruction of now forms part of the company’s CHF 3.5 billion di-
There is no single re-refining process that is perfect for waste oil has its own share of both brighter and darker vestment target in 2016.
every country. Much depends on the throughput and pro- sides. However, it must be said that notwithstanding the
Specific Technologies for Waste Oil Recycling cessing flexibility desired. However, it is worthwhile not- “We will operate in India through our subsidiaries
darker aspect of having to live with hazardous waste, re-
Based on the generic technologies referred to in the previ- ing that current technology seems to be converging towards ACC Ltd. and Ambuja Cements Ltd. with a combined
cycling offers many times more advantages to individuals,
ous section, many companies have developed specific pro- a two-step procedure, vacuum distillation of dehydrated cement capacity of around 63 million tonnes and a dis-
communities and the globe as a whole. Though hazard-
cesses for recycling waste oils. Some of the more promi- waste oil, and subsequent hydrotreating of distilled stocks. tribution network that extends across the entire coun-
ous, the residues from all the processes can be dealt with
nent and better known among them are detailed below. It Such technologies usually produce high-quality base oils try. We see opportunities to further build our business
by adopting appropriate routes and processes for handling
may however be noted that the following technologies do and concentrate the contaminants in the distillation resi- in India through our network of over 100,000 dealers
them, including secured landfill as a last resort.
not cover all those which have to date been tried and ex- due. Other re-refining technologies, for example, extrac- and retailers, and by meeting the infrastructure needs
perimented with. Not all have found their way to the com- tion based Interline technology and UOP Hylube, also Underdeveloped countries definitely have an advanta- of a country that is experiencing significant urbaniza-
mercial markets. Another few have been tried but no plants show promise. geous position compared to advanced countries, because tion,” said Eric Olsen, CEO LafargeHolcim.
exist that use these technologies commercially. They have the energy intensity (specific energy consumption for re-
The criteria for selection of a particular re-refining tech- The conditional clearance by the CCI for an earlier di-
been classified as “C” (commercially available), “R&D” cycling) can be brought down through the use of manual
nology are described in the following section. The users of vestment proposal was received in April 2015; includ-
(only researched and developed at the laboratory level) labour in most of the operations, e.g. handling drums and
this compendium are advised to consider the following im- ing the divestment of Jojobera and Sonadih plants in
and “OD” (outdated and no longer in use). barrels, loading and unloading the products, labelling,
portant parameters before making a selection of any tech- Eastern India with a cement capacity of 5.1 million
maintaining records and other administrative procedures
nology. For larger users, it would be perhaps necessary to tonnes. LafargeHolcim subsequently entered into a
and so forth, which account for a major portion of energy
undertake a comprehensive techno-economic evaluation letter agreement with Birla Corporation Limited, sub-
1. KTI Process in the processes. Even some of the technical operations
of the project through an experienced consulting agency. ject to CCI approval, in August 2015. However, due to
like operating the filter presses can be undertaken using
2. Safety Kleen Technology the current regulatory issues relating to the transfer of
manual labour, through minor modifications and appropri-
3. Axens/Viscolube (REVIVOIL) Technology mining rights captive and critical to the two plants, La-
ate leveraging as well as indigenous designs using local
4. IFP Technology/Snamprogetti Technology Issues Relevant to Developing Countries fargeHolcim was obliged to submit an alternate rem-
skills.
edy to the CCI to ensure compliance with the order. As
5. HyLube Process In light of the realisation that waste oils have a high po- a result, LafargeHolcim will now launch a new divest-
6. UOP DCH Process tential to cause air, water and land pollution, no distinction ment process for Lafarge India.
7. Probex Process should be made between developing and developed coun-
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