The story of lubricants modern era’s black gold III
The problem of hazardous waste, which is one of the inevitable negative consequences of industrialization, is a top priority on the agenda for many developed and developing countries today. In this sense, waste oil, which is a kind of hazardous waste, is an integral part of waste management plans worldwide. The need for planning related to the management of waste oils arises from the desire to minimize the negative effects of this hazardous waste on the environment and human health, and to use this waste with the best technology available and at the highest level, in a way that benefits the country’s economy.
In this regard, all stakeholders of the country’s waste oil management, including oil production facilities, waste oil producers, waste oil transporters, recycling and disposal establishments, authorized parties, and all relevant official institutions and organizations, must work in harmony within government-determined regulations. At every stage of waste oil management, environmental sensitivity and human health protection, as well as safety issues, should be kept at the highest level in all services, and the process should aim for continuous improvement. In order to achieve this goal, the community should be constantly informed.
In country policies related to waste oil management, various differences can be observed depending on changes in social and economic habits as well as priorities in environmental activities. To sustain an effective waste oil management policy across the country, it is important to control the waste oil at the source, set goals at all the stages from recovery to disposal, and plan these goals within the framework of health, safety, security and environment.
In all industrial countries, the areas of use for oils are similar, with approximately 50% being in industry and 50% in the transportation sector. Oil consumption, which was 23.8 million tons worldwide in 1980, is 40 million tons (+3%) today. There appears to be no standard practice for the evaluation methods of waste oil in developed countries, and there are very different approaches. Waste oil is evaluated in controlled environments in three different ways worldwide: recovery for raw material or energy value, hazardous waste, and disposal.
Waste Oil Management in Türkiye
As part of the work carried out by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye within the framework of compliance with the European Union, significant developments have been made with the Waste Oil Control Regulation, which was published in 2004 in Türkiye, and additional regulations made thereafter.
On December 21, 2019, the Waste Oil Management Regulation was published, and under this regulation, the concept of category was removed and waste oils were divided into two groups: “waste engine oils” and “industrial waste oils”.
The regulation imposes obligations on oil producers for notifying the oil marketed/imported, providing written information on places where lubricant is sold, conducting public education and awareness-raising activities, membership in authorized organizations, ensuring the collection, refining and/or disposal of waste oil through membership throughout the country, and covering the necessary expenses for managing them in compliance with this regulation. The authorized organizations are required to be the sole collectors and carriers of waste oils that have been reduced from a market representation rate of 30% to 10%, and the waste oils can only be delivered to refinery facilities. In addition to the requirement for registration and certification of businesses that change engine oil, there is now a mandatory trial production for new environmental licenses with the concept of waste oil refining facilities instead of waste oil recovery facilities.
In Türkiye, while the base oil imports were approximately 488,000 tons in 2020, they increased to around 512,000 tons in 2021. Due to illegal market activities in the fuel supply such ‘oil number ten’ and etc. based on supplydemand balance, it is observed that the amount of lubricant supplied to the market is beyond the actual lubricant amount consumed in Türkiye (Figure 1).
Based on annual consumption data, the amount of waste oil generated after use is around 262,000 tons (out of 422,751 tons; 62% waste oil). According to the data of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change for 2019, it is observed that 104,902 tons of waste oil could be collected in Türkiye, and the remaining 157,204 tons of waste oil could not be recorded (Figure 2). In Türkiye, consumption of lubricant in 2019 was 423,000 tons, amount of waste lubricant generated was 262,000 tons, with 104,900 tons (40%) of it being collected. 62,884 tons (59.9%) of the collected waste oil were recycled, 37,830 tons (36.1%) were used as supplementary fuel, and 4,188 tons (4%) were disposed.
The amount of engine and transmission oil released to the market in Türkiye, based on base oil and lubricant production, import, export, and consumption quantities, is 235,000 tons in 2020. The amount of generated waste engine and transmission oil is 141,000 tons (60%). The amount of collected waste engine and transmission oil in 2020 is 19,469 tons, and the amount of unregistered waste lubricant is 121,531 tons. The amount of waste engine oil collected by PETDER is around 19,469 tons (%14). The remaining 121,531 tons of waste oil have the risk of being involved in illegal activities. When the excess demand for base oil and lubricant is taken into account, it is estimated that the amount of waste oil that could be used illegally as fugitive fuel is much higher, reaching around 217,903 tons.
Waste Oil Management in the World
It is observed that approximately 14.4 billion liters of waste oil are commercially collected worldwide and there are significant differences in the management of waste oils. The majority of waste oil outside North America, Western Europe and the Middle East is still burned as fuel, while the rates of conversion to base oil vary significantly worldwide.
In the United States, approximately 12% of used oils are re-refined, while this rate is around 5% in the Asia-Pacific region, 9% in Latin America, 16% in the Middle East, and 1% in Africa. In Western Europe, it has been reported that about 17% of used oils are subject to re-refining (Figure 3).
Some governments, such as Italy and Spain, offer subsidies for both the collection and refining of waste oil, while others, such as Australia, only subsidize the refining process. Some governments, such as in some Canadian provinces and Portugal, focus only on incentives for collection; while governments like China apply tax exemptions, and in countries like Brazil, burning waste oil is prohibited.
In Germany, waste oil refining subsidies were first introduced in 2002, but due to the capacity of recovery and resilience facilities (RRF) more than doubling in response to the subsidies, these incentives were discontinued in 2007. In Italy, refinery subsidies are indexed to changes in world crude oil prices, while in Australia incentive amounts have been reduced when recovery targets are met. Figure 4 shows the rates of conversion of collected oils into base oils worldwide. According to this, with a conversion rate of approximately 85%, Italy is ranked first in Europe.
Eurostat data shows that 54% of waste lubricant is recovered in EU. This data indicates that there is still a need for improvements in waste lubricant management systems (Figure 5).
When waste lubricants are re-refined, they can provide energy savings of up to 30% compared to using primary raw materials for production. In addition, the modern re-refining processes enable the production of base oils that meet high standards of low sulfur, aromatic pollutants, or phosphorus content and offer a high viscosity index. However, due to the environmental benefits provided by the re-refining process, the European Commission stated in its 2020 Environment Action Programme that energy recovery (incineration) should be limited only to non-recyclable products. In addition, modern re-refining technologies can reduce CO2 emissions (kg CO2 per ton of base oil) by more than 50% compared to traditional base oil production.