Abstract
Used lubricating oils generated from automotive and process industries pose environmental hazards if not properly managed. In this study, the potential to re-refine used lubricants for reuse was investigated. Used oil collected from a local garage was dehydrated at 240°C and varying pressure of 4-12bars under vacuum distillation. Solvent extraction was employed using Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) as a solvent with varying ratios from 2:1 to 6:1 at a mixing temperature of 60°C. MEK and oils mixture underwent atmospheric distillation at 80 °C to allow separation of oils and MEK. During the re-refining process, the amount of water removed, ash content, sulphur content, viscosity, specific gravity, flash point and pour point were measured. Optimum oil yield of 94 (wt %) was achieved at a solvent to oil-ratio of 6:1. Re-refining of used oils resulted in a 73% reduction in sulphur content, 76% reduction in ash content and 64% water removal. The re-refined oil's viscosity of 90 cP, flash point of 160 °C, the specific gravity of 0.91 and pour point of -12°C. The re-refined used oils properties were almost similar to those of virgin oil using a combination of vacuum distillation and solvent extraction with an additive for maximum performance. Re-refined oils employing zinc dialkylProceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Pretoria / Johannesburg, South Africa, October 29 - November 1, 2018 dithiosulphate as an additive exhibited physicochemical characteristics similar to virgin lubricating oils and can be adopted for re-use.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1357-1364 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management |
Volume | 2018 |
Issue number | NOV |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Event | Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Pretoria, IEOM 2018 - Duration: 29 Oct 2018 → 1 Nov 2018 |
Keywords
- Re-refining
- Used oils
- Waste management
- Zinc dialkyl dithiosulphate
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Strategy and Management
- Management Science and Operations Research
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering