SECTOR FOCUS: RENEWABLE ENERGY Are lubricants a
In my recent speeches at ICIS Base Oils London and CIS Base Oils in Moscow, I started my presentation with a short video, easily viewable on YouTube, which was made by a famous lubricant blender. The video says: “Worldwide used oil amounts to 39 billion liters, equivalent to more than 240 million barrels. When put in a row it would take you around the World 3.5 times”.
This number is amazing! When used oil is recycled, about 65-70% becomes new base oil that reenters the market, saving energy and fossil resources. Used mineral oils can be recycled a number of times without any limitation and, thanks to the technology available today, the quality is exactly the same as that of the virgin base oils. I’m proud today to be part of a team of engineers with whom I can design and manufacture used oil recycling plants using my 30 years’ experience in this field.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) helps consumers on its website locate motor oil collection and recycling centers.
Several Life Cycle Assessments recognize that the used oil recycling (re-refining) is the most environmentally friendly option (see IFEU LCA in the picture below) compared with the “vintage” burning. As for burning recycled oil for fuel, most of the product goes that route but once it’s burned it’s gone forever.
Internal combustion engines are made of metal parts in constant motion. Motor oil provides a necessary thin, lubricating film to make sure that they don’t come in contact with one another. This prevents wear on engine parts and reduces friction to minimize heat damage. Oil also helps to keep engine surfaces clean, makes start-up easier, and limits rust and corrosion.
22 LUBE MAGAZINE NO.146 AUGUST 2018
renewable resource? If recycling used oil, yes.
Dr. Ing. Fabio Dalla Giovanna, Business Development Director – CMBItaly Technoilogy Srl
Oil captures the contaminant by-products of combustion including carbon, soot, and heavy metals from engine wear which reduce its effectiveness as they build up in oil over time. Oil also contains performance-enhancing chemical additives, which make up as much as 15 percent of its total volume. These additives become depleted with wear so the processes they prevent, like corrosion or the sludge- forming mixing of oil and water, become problematic when oil has been used too long.
But the physical properties of motor oil itself don’t degrade. Re-refining uses a practice of vacuum distillation to remove contaminants such as fuel, water, or dirt from used oil to produce new “base oil”. The base oil is then blended with a fresh cocktail of additives like dispersants, detergents, and anti-foaming chemicals to restore the oil to its original effectiveness.
It takes about 4 liters of used oil to make 2.5 liters of re-refined motor oil, and the base stock can also be used to produce other lubricants like automatic transmission fluid or hydraulic fluid. That is a lot more efficient than producing “virgin” motor oil; it takes an entire barrel (159 liters) to produce the same amount.
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