Page 590 - Materials Chemistry, Second Edition

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19 Management of Used Oil

The development of the superculture is the result of the knowledge explosion, which led not only to new
theories and processes, but to new discoveries, especially of fossil fuels and rich ores. In 1859 the human
race discovered a huge treasure chest in its basement. This was oil and gas, a fantastically cheap and
easily available source of energy. We did, or at least some of us did, what anybody does who discovers a
treasure in the basement — live it up and we have been spending this treasure with great enjoyment.

Kenneth E. Boulding (1910–1993)
Ecodynamics: A New Theory of Societal Evolution, 1978

19.1 INTRODUCTION
An estimated 1.4 billion gal of used oil are generated each year in the United States alone.
Automotive maintenance facilities, do-it-yourself (DIY) oil-changing practices, manufacturing
companies, electric-generating stations, and mining and smelter operations are among the primary
sources of used oil. Prior to RCRA regulations, a significant portion of used oil was utilized and
disposed of improperly; for example, used oil had routinely been applied to control road dust and
kill roadside weeds. New regulations, however, have banned certain uses and encouraged others.
For example, under RCRA, about 1.9 billion L (500 million gal) of used oil are burned in 30,000
boilers and industrial furnaces (Mouche, 1995). Unfortunately, large quantities of oil continue to be
improperly disposed; about 200 million gal are dumped onto the ground, discarded in ordinary
household trash, and poured down storm sewers and drains (U.S. EPA, 1994). The persistent com-
ponents of these oils are transported via sewers and large water bodies where they sink into sedi-
ments. Pollution due to used motor oil occurs worldwide and reaches several million tons yearly.
The Used Oil Management Standards (40 CFR Part 279) impose requirements affecting the
storage, transportation, burning, processing, and re-refining of used oil by commercial facilities. For
facilities that generate used oil, the regulations establish storage standards. For a used oil marketer
(i.e., one that sells used oil directly to a burner facility) there are additional tracking and paperwork
requirements. Transporters of used oil are responsible for the chemical analysis of used oil ship-
ments and for compliance with both RCRA and DOT requirements. Finally, recyclers and burners
of used oil must comply with requirements for analysis of the oil, furnace type, and air pollution
control measures.

19.2 PRODUCTION AND PROPERTIES OF LUBRICATING OILS

Petroleum refining is designed to extract a wide range of fuels and lubricating oils as a function of
their respective boiling points. Within the refining tower many lubricating oils are recovered includ-
ing engine oil, industrial transmission oils, hydraulic oils, heat-transfer oils, cutting oils, electrical oils,
and others. Lubricating oils are distinguished from other fractions of crude oil by their high (>400°C
[750°F]) boiling point and high viscosity. Compounds separated for the production of lubricating oils
are hydrocarbons containing as many as 40 carbons per molecule. In these oils there is a predominance
of normal (i.e., straight chain) and branched paraffins. There are also polycycloparaffins, with rings

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