The Re-Refining of Used Lubricating Oil in Vehicls

THE RE-REFINING OF USED LUBRICATING
OIL IN VEHICLS
INTRODUCTION :
1.1 LUBE OIL :
Lubricating oil is an important resource. One of

the more valuable lubricating oils is the motor
oil used in passenger cars, vans, and trucks .
Lube oil is an viscous liquid used for lubrication
of various internal combustion engines. The
main function is to lubricate moving parts; it
also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing,
and cools the engine by carrying heat away
from moving parts.
1.2 OIL CHEMISTRY:
The lubricating oil molecules can be divided into
three broad groupings:
Paraffinic: Predominantly straight chains, tend

to be waxy, have a high pour point and good
viscosity/temperature stability.
Naphthenic: Straight chains with a high

proportion of five and to a lesser extent six
membered ring structures. Tend to have a low
pour point. For this reason they are used as
refrigeration oils. They are highly carcinogenic
and are little used in engine oil. Dominion Oil
treats used refrigerator oils separately from the
main plant. As refrigerator oils do not come in
contact with products of combustion they are
much cleaner than engine oils.
Aromatic: Straight chains with six membered

ring benzene structures. In practise, no sharp
distinction exists between these various
groupings as many lubricating oil molecules are
a combination, to varying degrees, of the
different types of hydrocarbons. The main point
to bear in mind is that these molecules are
extremely stable. Lubricating oil molecules
never wear out - all that happens is that the
additives in the oil wear out or deplete and
need replacing.
1.3 FUNCTIONS
- Used to reduce friction between moving
surfaces.
-Remove heat from working parts in
Machinery.
-Remove wear debris created by moving
surfaces.
-Provide a protective layering on metal surfaces
to avoid corrosion.
-Removing contaminants from the engine.
2.1 USED LUBE OIL

Used lube oil is defined as the petroleum
derived or synthetic oil which remains after
applications in lubrications, cutting purposes,
etc, After a certain period of useful life, the
lubricating oil loses its properties and cannot be
used as such in machinery. Build up of
temperature degrade the lubricating oil, thus
leading to reduction in properties such as :
Viscosity, Specific gravity, etc Dirt and metal
parts worn out from the surfaces are also
deposited into the lubricating oils. With
increased time of uses, the lubricating loses its
lubricating properties as a result of over
reduction of desired properties and thus must
be replaced with fresh one.
2.2 CONTAMINANTS :
The main contaminants are :
WATER :Fuel burns to CO2 and H2O. When an
engine is cold the water Created can pass
through to the lube oil.
FUEL : Unburned petrol or diesel passes through
to the lube oil during Engine start-ups.
CARBON : Forms as a result of incomplete
combustion when an engine is warming up and
passes through to the lube oil.
DUST : Small particles pass into the engine
through the air breather.
METALS : Due to normal engine component
wear.
OXIDATION PRODUCTS : Additive chemicals at
elevated temperatures in the presence of
oxygen can oxidize forming corrosive acids.
3.1 ENVIROMENTAL ISSUES

Oil in any form is potentially harmful to the
environment. Post-studies of oil spills indicate
that it takes up to twenty years for an aquatic
environment to return to a healthy condition.
In aquatic community oil residue tends to settle
on the bottom, coating the substance and
whatever organisms live there.
When poured on the ground, oil can rapidly
migrate through the soil.
In both instances bacteria, plants, invertebrates
and vertebrates experience physiological stress.
Oil film on water can reduce the penetration of
light into the water and, consequently, reduce
the rate of photosynthesis, When
photosynthesis is reduced, oxygen production is
also reduced.
4.1 RESOURCES OF LUBE OIL

5.1 RE-CYCLING :
The re-refiner's job is to remove all the
contaminants and restore the oil to its original
condition .
5.2 IMPORTANCE AND BENEFITS OF
REREFINING :
1-Reduce dependence on base oil imports
saving foreign exchange.
2- Prevent ground water contamination and
pollution.
3- Preserve natural resources such as coal and
crude oil.
4- Reduce sewage treatment costs.
5- Eliminate improper burning of waste oil as
fuel, which generate toxic fumes and air
pollution.
6.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS :

Step 1 - Dehydration The oil is stored to
allow water and solids to separate out
from the oil, then the oil is heated to
120oC in a closed vessel to boil off any
emulsified water and some of the fuel
diluents.
Step 2 - Diesel stripping The dehydrated

oil is then fed continuously into a
vacuum distillation plant for
fractionation in exactly the same fashion
as crude petroleum. The fractions
obtained are as follows:
1. Light fuel and diesel: Dominion Oil

produces enough diesel from the used
oil feedstock to run all the burners and
boilers, giving total self-sufficiency in
fuel.
2. Lubricating oiL: The bulk of the
feedstock will distill off in the plant to
produce a lubricating oil fraction.
3. Residue: The non-distillable part of the

feedstock. This contains all the carbon,
wear metals, degraded additives and
most of the lead and oxidation products.
This residue is successfully used as
bitumen extender for roading.
Step 3 - Lube oil distillation and

condensation The lubricating oil
fractions are then passed through an
extraction tower in the presence of
Nmethylpyrolidone (NMP). The NMP is
an aromatic selective solvent which, in
addition to removing some colour and
odour, is able to extract all unwanted
aromatic contaminants present in the
paraffinic lubricating oil fraction,
subsequent to fractional distillation. This
is important as polycyclic aromatics are
very carcinogenic. This process is
commonly used in virgin oil refineries,
but Dominion Oil Refining is the only
manufacturer of re-refined oil to use it.

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THE RE-REFINING OF USED LUBRICATING

1.1 LUBE OIL :

Lubricating oil is an important resource. One of

Paraffinic: Predominantly straight chains, tend

Naphthenic: Straight chains with a high

Aromatic: Straight chains with six membered

2.1 USED LUBE OIL

3.1 ENVIROMENTAL ISSUES

4.1 RESOURCES OF LUBE OIL

6.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROCESS :

Step 2 - Diesel stripping The dehydrated

1. Light fuel and diesel: Dominion Oil

3. Residue: The non-distillable part of the

Step 3 - Lube oil distillation and

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