Selection of the Most Appropriate Technology for Waste

Selection of the

Most Appropriate Technology

for Waste Mineral Oil Refining

Project

Technical Research Report

2012

THIS PROJECT WAS FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY 2011 DIRECT OPERATION SUPPORT

PROGRAM OF ISTANBUL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The content of this study, prepared within the framework of the Selection of the Most Appropriate Technology for Waste Mineral Oil Refining Project supported by Istanbul

Development Agency, does not reflect the views of Istanbul Development Agency or the Ministry of Development.

PETDER has the sole responsibility for the content of the study.

PETDER-Petroleum Industry Association Page 2/65

PROGRAM:

Istanbul Development Agency 2011 Direct Operation Support Program

AGREEMENT NO:

İSTKA/2011/DFD/50

NAME OF THE PROJECT:

Selection of the Most Appropriate Technology for Waste

Mineral Oil Refining

PROJECT MANAGER:

Designed by Petroleum Industry Association.

PETDER does not have any associates for

this project.

REPORT TERM:

15 January 2012 - 15 April 2012

ADDRESS OF THE PROJECT MANAGER:

Kaptanpaşa Mah. Piyalepaşa Bulvarı Ortadoğu Plaza No: 73 Kat: 5 D:10, Okmeydanı

34384 Şişli - İSTANBUL

FINAL BENEFICIARIES AND/OR TARGET GROUPS:

The final beneficiaries of this project are; local and foreign investors wishing to make

investments in the area of waste oil re refining, the Refining and Regeneration

Facilities in Turkey (31 facilities), the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning,

Energy Market Regulatory Authority, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality,

Universities, Mineral Oil Producers, Institutions Authorized by the Ministry of

Environment and Urban Planning, researchers interested in the subject and all waste

generators as it concerns public health.


INDEX

1 PROJECT SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 5

2 PROJECT INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 7

2.1 AIMS OF THE PROJECT ................................................................................................................................. 7

2.2 RESTRICTIONS AND EXEMPTIONS ............................................................................................................ 7

3 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................................................. 9

3.1 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY ................................................................................................. 10 3.2 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES ............................................................................. 14

3.3 EU COUNTRIES, USA AND TURKEY COMPARISONS ........................................................................... 18

4 WASTE MINERAL OIL RECOVERY METHODS .......................................................................................... 20

4.1 PREPARIND WASTE MINERAL OILS FOR REUSE .................................................................................. 22

4.2 RECYCLING OF WASTE MINERAL OILS .................................................................................................. 23

4.3 RECOVERY OF WASTE MINERAL OILS AS ENERGY ............................................................................ 22

5 RE REFINING TECHNOLOGIES ...................................................................................................................... 24

5.1 ACID CLAY METHOD .................................................................................................................................. 23 5.2 CEP PROCESS ................................................................................................................................................ 25 5.3 MOHAWK PROCESS..................................................................................................................................... 27 5.4 HYLUBE PROCESS ....................................................................................................................................... 28 5.5 REVIVOIL PROCESS..................................................................................................................................... 30 5.6 AVISTA OIL SOLVENT EXTRACTION PROCESS .................................................................................... 31 5.7 CYCLON PROCESS ....................................................................................................................................... 32 5.8 INTERLINE PROCESS................................................................................................................................... 33 5.9 RELUBE PROCESS ........................................................................................................................................ 33 5.10 MEINKEN PROCESS ..................................................................................................................................... 33 5.11 PROP PROCESS ............................................................................................................................................. 33 5.12 SNAMPROGETTİ PROCESS ......................................................................................................................... 34 5.13 SOTULUB PROCESS ..................................................................................................................................... 34 5.14 ENTRA PROCESS .......................................................................................................................................... 35 5.15 ATOMIC VACUUM PROCESS ..................................................................................................................... 35 5.16 MATTHYS - GARAP PROCESS .................................................................................................................... 35 5.17 ROSE PROCESS ............................................................................................................................................. 36 5.18 PROTERRA PROCESS................................................................................................................................... 36 5.19 FEMD- TECH PROCESS ................................................................................................................................ 37 5.20 SEQUOIA PROCESS ...................................................................................................................................... 37 5.21 TWFE PROCESS ............................................................................................................................................ 37 5.22 STP PROCESS ................................................................................................................................................ 37 5.23 RECYCLON PROCESS .................................................................................................................................. 38

6 COMPARISON OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES ..................................................................................... 40

6.1 ACID CLAY METHOD .................................................................................................................................. 41 6.2 HYDROPROCESSING METHODS ............................................................................................................... 41

6.3 SOLVENT EXTRACTION METHODS ......................................................................................................... 41 6.4 RE REFINING TECHNOLOGIES IN TURKEY .......................................................................................... 42 6.4.1 Technologies Implemented in Re refining Facilities ............................................................................... 43 6.4.2 Operating Conditions of the Facilities .................................................................................................... 46

6.4.3 Products Prodcued at the Facilities ........................................................................................................ 46 6.4.4 Waste Generated at the Facilities in the Production Process ................................................................. 47

6.4.5 Assessment of the Facilities in terms of Management Strategies ............................................................ 47 6.4.6 Areas to Improve in the Production Process at the Facilities ................................................................... 47

7 SUGGESTIONS REGARDING PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION ................................................................. 49

7.1 DETERMINING THE CAPACITY OF THE RE REFINING PLANT ........................................................... 49 7.1.1 Determining the Potential Amount of Feedstock ...................................................................................... 49


7.1.2 Regional Resources to Supply Feedstock ................................................................................................ 50 7.1.3 Determining the Feedstock Processing Capacity of the Plant .................................................................. 51

7.2 CHOOSING THE MOST APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TO BE USED IN THE PLANT ..................... 52 7.3 PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE PLANT ............................................................................................... 53 7.3.1 Selection of the Location of the Plant and Size of the Site ...................................................................... 53 7.3.2 Preliminary Financial Studies .................................................................................................................. 57

8 GENERAL ASSESSMENT ................................................................................................................................... 62

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................................... 65


1 PROJECT SUMMARY

An industrial refining facility built in accordance with the models in developed countries, that

removes the contaminants (PAH, chloride compounds, heavy metals etc.) in the waste oil and

produces base oil conforming to the standards does not exist in Turkey.

According to calculations, approximately 400-450 thousand tons of mineral oil is consumed in

Turkey generating nearly 200-250 thousand tons of waste mineral oil after use. According to data

from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, 45-50 thousand tons of waste oil is recorded

and collected in Turkey. The remaining 200 thousand tons of oil is collected illegally by purchasing,

used as illicit fuel under the name of Number 10 Lube or blended with other fuels, offered to the

market as unqualified oil, combusted for heating in uncontrolled environments or disposed

improperly. Briefly, waste mineral oils are collected to a large extent but only a proportion is

recorded and processed legally.

According to data from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, 32% of recorded waste

oils is combusted in cement, lime and iron and steel factories for energy recovery, 64% is processed

in refining and regeneration facilities for recovery as feedstock, 4% is disposed by disposal facilities.

Combustion of waste oils in iron and steel, cement and lime factories for energy recovery and

production of neutral base oil removing all the contaminants in the waste oils by means of

appropriate advanced refining technologies are recovery methods widely implemented in developed

countries and approved by EU legislation. These methods aim to prevent overconsumption of

petroleum resources and contribute to the economy by means of the products produced using these

technologies.

40% of the mineral oils that have detrimental impacts on the environment and human health is

generated in Marmara Region. Waste mineral oils are blended with fuel to a great extent, offered to

the market as products that do not comply with the standards after being processed with

inappropriate methods and used for illegal activities under the name of Number 10 Lube. This

project aims to prevent the negative impacts of the waste oils to the air, water and soil ecosystem of

Istanbul by producing high quality products conforming to the standards, to improve the life quality

in the cities and to contribute to the waste management system practices.


A preliminary feasibility study has been carried out within the framework of the project by means of

a comparative analysis of the legislation and technological developments regarding the re refining of

the waste mineral oils and the practices in Turkey in order to select the most appropriate technology

for the re refining of the waste mineral oils collected from Istanbul and neighboring cities.

We wish that this report prepared within the scope of the project will be beneficial to the local and

foreign investors wishing to make investments in Turkey.

We express our thanks to the Ministry of Development, Istanbul Development Agency for their

financial support, and experts and consultants whose knowledge and experience we have benefited

from.

Petroleum Industry Association

İstanbul, 20 April 2012


2 PROJECT INTRODUCTION

2.1 AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The main aim of this project is to prevent the damage to the ecosystem of Istanbul and Turkey

caused by the waste mineral oils, 40% of which is generated in Marmara region and illegally blended

with fuel, offered to the market as products that do not comply with the standards after being

processed with inappropriate methods and used for illegal activities under the name of Number 10

Lube or combusted in uncontrolled environments. The target issues in order to achieve this goal are

mentioned below and the report tries to answer the probable questions that might be raised on these

issues.

- To outline the technical, economic and social requirements of the first waste oil refining

plant in Turkey that will process waste oil to produce Group I or Group II high quality

base oil in compliance with the standards TS 13369 and ASTM 6074 and to contribute to

the economy by means of reusable base oil production.

- To determine the logistic framework necessary for the collection and disposal of waste

mineral oils mainly in İstanbul.

- To be able to contribute to the additions and amendments to the Waste Oil Control

Regulation required because of the flaws that occur during the practices while meeting the

requirements of the regulation.

- To determine the appropriate technology that will enable the recovery of waste oils

primarily as feedstock in accordance with EU Waste Directive and to work out a solution

for Istanbul based on this technology.

2.2 RESTRICTIONS AND EXEMPTIONS

The analysis and assessments in this report are based on the knowledge and experience provided by

experts, data obtained from field surveys and observations and documents obtained from relevant

sources. The factors that were faced during the compilation of this data and that have direct impacts

on the framework of the analysis and the factors that were excluded from this report are mentioned

below and need to be considered in the course of assessments.


- “Waste Oils” mentioned in many parts of this report include waste mineral oils. Other

waste oils such as vegetable oils or synthetic lubricants are excluded from this definition

and this report.

- The study conducted is limited to the examination of documents gathered by PETDER.

- The content of this study, prepared within the framework of the Selection of the Most

Appropriate Technology for Waste Mineral Oil Refining Project supported by Istanbul

Development Agency, does not reflect the views of Istanbul Development Agency or the

Ministry of Development. PETDER has the sole responsibility for the content of the

study.

- The evaluations regarding the institutions are based on examinations carried out on-site

and on the date of examination. The changes that have taken place after the preparation of

the report regarding the equipment or the organization of the facility and their impacts

should be taken into consideration for an objective assessment.


3 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT

Hazardous waste, one of the detrimental effects of industrialization, has been widely discussed in

developed and developing countries recently. Waste mineral oil, that is also considered as hazardous

waste, has been a significant part of the waste management plans of these countries. Waste oil

management is necessary in order to minimize the negative impacts of the waste oil on the

environment and human health, and to reuse this hazardous waste by means of the most appropriate

technologies to contribute to the national economy. In this respect, the key groups in the waste oil

management system; oil producers, waste oil generators, waste oil transporters, recovery and

disposal facilities, licensed parties, all the relevant official bodies need to cooperate within the

framework of the regulations in the legislation. Moreover, at each step of waste oil management, it is

important to take the necessary measures to ensure that waste management is carried out without

endangering human health, without harming the environment. The aim should be continuous

improvement and the public should be regularly informed regarding the progress.

Although it is possible to observe some differences among the waste oil management systems in

different countries because of the diversities in social and economic habits and priorities in

environmental activities, this does not change the fact that the activities mentioned above should be

carried out. In order to maintain a nation-wide waste oil management system, it is necessary to

determine the aims at each step from analysing the waste oil at the source until the recovery or

disposal phase and “Health, Safety, Environment and Security” factors should be considered while

defining the aims.

In the Waste Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November

2008, issues such as separate collection of waste oils, adoption of an appropriate waste management

strategy and prevention of environmental damages caused by landfill are highlighted. According to

the Waste Hierarchy presented in the Directive, waste should be reduced (prevention), prepared for

reuse (reclaiming), recycled to be feedstock (recycling), recovered as energy (energy recovery) and

disposed if there is no other alternative (disposal). However, the directive also necessitates carrying

out Life Cycle Assessments in the waste oil recovery processes. Because the results of the life cycle

assessment might depart from this hierarchy for the management of some wastes. Therefore, waste

hierarchy presented in the EU legislation might be altered based on the results of the life cycle

assessment. Reuse, which is presented as the second option, might be considered as the last option

even after disposal based on the results of the life cycle assessment.


Life Cycle Assessments provide valuable information on the issues such as recovering waste oil as

base oil by means of various refining methods or in the form of energy using the most appropriate

methods with minimum environmental impacts. These studies vary depending on the type of waste

oil, the refining method used etc., and even on the transportation distances. As a result of this

directive that necessitates taking the Life Cycle Assessments into consideration, many countries have

prioritized energy recovery in waste oil management. However, in terms of waste management in

Turkey, the knowledge and experience on Life Cycle Assessments is not sufficient and such

scientific methods are not employed in waste management planning.

3.1 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT IN TURKEY

In the course of the EU harmonization studies conducted by the Ministry of Environment and Urban

Planning, the waste directive 2008/98/EC of the European Union serves as the basis for the

legislative arrangements on the subject in Turkey. The first legal regulation pertaining to the waste

oil management in Turkey is the ‘Waste Oil Management Regulation’ issued by the Ministry of

Environment and Forestry, as it was then called, effective after its publication in the Official Gazette

dated 21.01.2004 and numbered 25353. The regulation is based on a dynamic model that imposes

liabilities on waste oil producers, motor oil producers, local authorities, directorate, recovery and

disposal facilities. In this model, motor oil producers’ and importers’ liability to collect motor oil and

the principle of “the liability of producers, importers and those releasing motor oil products to the

market” mentioned in Article 11 of the Environment Law numbered 2872 became effective.

When the market supply and demand of mineral oil in Turkey is analyzed, it is observed that a

demand surplus of 1 million 50 thousand tons of mineral oil occurred in 2011. The main reason for

this is the illegal activities carried out under the name of Number 10 Lube that is imported in order to

be used as base oil in mineral oil industry and widely used and sold in the diesel market. Therefore, it

has become difficult to determine the actual amount of mineral oil consumption in Turkey accurately

and make a sound assessment on the amount of waste oil generation.

According to data from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), the number of licensed

Mineral Oil Producers in Turkey was 310 by the end of 2011. The mineral oil consumption in

Turkey could be only roughly calculated based on; mineral oil market data provided on a voluntary

basis by ALPET, BP, CASTROL, LUKOIL, OPET, POAŞ, SHELL, TOTAL and MOIL, foreign

trade statistics published by TSI and declarations submitted to the Ministry of Environment and


Urban Planning. According this data, mineral oil consumption, which was 416 thousand tons in

2010, totaled 411 thousand tons in 2011.

Figure 3.1.1- Amount of Mineral Oil consumed in Turkey in 2010 and 2011 (thousand ton/year)

In accordance with the annual consumption figures, the amount of oil that is defined as waste after

being used is estimated to be approximately 250 thousand tons. However, according to 2010 data

from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 43.959 tons of waste oil was recorded and collected

while the remaining 206.041 tons of waste oil could not be recorded.

An assessment based on the recorded waste oil that has been collected displays that 14.575 tons of

waste oil was recovered as energy in cement, lime, iron and steel plants, 28.140 tons of waste oil was

recovered as feedstock in refining and regeneration facilities, 1.244 tons of oil was disposed in

disposal facilities.

In the period following the publication of the regulation, amendments in the regulation were made on

30.07.2008 because of the problems faced during the collection, transportation, categorization of

waste oils and the release of the recovered products to the market regarding the application of these

processes. The aim of the amendments was to have a more applicable regulation with a wider scope.

However, it is obvious that more studies should be conducted regarding this Regulation as there is an

increase in misuse of imported base oils and the waste oil recovery practices have not yet reached the

desired levels and qualifications.


The regulation authorizes the “Motor Oil Producers” or “Authorized Bodies” for the collection of

waste motor oils. It is forbidden for persons and organizations other than these parties to collect oil.

Petroleum Industry Association (PETDER) has been assigned as an “Authorized Body” by the

Ministry of Environment and Forestry regarding the nation-wide collection and recovery as

product/energy or disposal of Waste Motor Oils in licensed facilities. In this respect, the statistical

data regarding the “waste motor oil collection” activities carried out by the association since 2004

within the framework of Waste Oil Management Regulation is a significant source in terms of waste

oil management in Turkey. According to this data on Waste Motor Oil, the amount of waste motor

oil collected in 2011 was 20.576 tons. 9% of the waste motor oil collected was recovered as

feedstock in licensed refining and regeneration facilities, 83% was recovered as energy at cement,

lime or iron and steel factories and 8% was transferred to the disposal facilities as hazardous waste.

Figure 3.1.2- Yearly Amounts of Waste Mineral Oils Collected by PETDER (ton)


Figure 3.1.3- The breakdown of the categories of waste motor oils collected in 2011

The breakdown of the sources of waste motor oils collected in 2011 is as follows:

55% from Garages, 9% from Industrial Car Parks, 6% from Public Institutions, 4% from

Municipalities, 6% from Construction and Mining Industry, 2% from Oil Producers, 15% from

Military Organizations, 1% from Transport Companies and the remaining 1% from Washing and

Lubricating Stations and other institutions.

Figure 3.1.4- The breakdown of the sources of waste motor oils collected in 2011


The regional breakdown of the total waste engine oil collected in 2011 is as follows:

8 thousand 466 tons from Marmara Region, 2 thousand 802 tons from Aegean Region, 3 thousand

622 tons from Central Anatolia Region, one thousand 902 tons from Black Sea Region, 2 thousand

107 tons from Mediterranean Region, 835 tons from Southern Anatolian Region, 842 tons from

Eastern Anatolian Region.

Figure 3.1.5- Regional Breakdown of the Total Waste Motor Oil Collected in 2011

When the cities are listed according to the amount of waste motor oil collected in 2011, the top ten

cities from the most to the least are İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Kocaeli, Bursa, Adana, Tekirdağ,

Kayseri, Antalya and Zonguldak. The cities where the amount of waste motor oil collection was the

least are Şırnak, Muş, Ağrı, Kilis and Bitlis.

3.2 WASTE OIL MANAGEMENT IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Upon examining the waste oil management strategies in other countries, it has been observed that

rather than a single standard approach, there are various different approaches. In the legal regulations

worldwide waste oils are treated in two different ways which are recovery as feedstock or energy and

disposal as hazardous waste.

In the Kline Report, which is an important reference in waste oil recovery, it is stated that a total of

32.3 million tons of mineral oil was used worldwide in 2009 and that 22.4 million tons of waste oil

was generated after use. 16.5 million tons (74%) of this amount was collected but it was not possible

to collect the remaining 5.9 million tons (26%) of waste oil for recovery and it could not be recorded

how this amount was used.


Figure 3.2.1- Waste Mineral Oil Collection Rates on a Global Scale

An analysis of the total waste oil collected indicates that 12.9 million tons (78%) of waste oil was

used as additional fuel for energy recovery, 2.6 million tons (16%) of waste oil was recovered as

feedstock and the remaining 1 million tons (6%) of waste oil was disposed.

In GEIR 2008 report, an analysis based on the amount of waste oil collected indicates that 50% of

the waste oils collected in the European countries was used as additional fuel for energy recovery

and 37% was recovered as feedstock for production. It is stated in the report that the EU average of

recorded and recollected waste oils is 74%.

Figure 3.2.2- Distribution of Waste Mineral Oil Recovery Methods on a Global Scale


The waste oil management practices in some of the EU countries and North America are summarized

below:

In France; ADEME “French Environment and Energy Management Agency” implements the waste

oil management policy. The waste oils are collected by collectors and transporters authorized by

ADEME. Waste oil collection rate is 44%. 41% of the waste oils collected are used in cement

factories or other allowed facilities for energy recovery. 42% of waste oils is processed in re refining

facilities for recovery as feedstock. (GEIR, 2008).

In Germany; waste oils are categorized under different groups: non-chloride, non-halogen, PCB and

halogen based, biologically soluble, insulating, heat transfer, oil/water separator oils. Waste

generators are free to deliver their used oils for recovery either as feedstock or energy. However,

with the regulation in 2002, recovery as feedstock was prioritized. 29% of the waste oils collected

are used in cement, lime or iron and steel factories for energy recovery. 26% of the waste oils

collected is processed in re refining facilities for recovery as base oil and nearly 105 thousand tons of

imported waste oil is processed to produce base oil. (GEIR, 2008).

In Italy; waste oils are managed and collected by a consortium (COOU) consisting of mineral oil

producers, waste oil collectors and refining facilities. This consortium works under the authority of

the Ministers of Industry, Finance, Health and Environment. COOU is responsible from the

collection, quality controls and processing of waste oils. There are approximately 80 collectors in

Italy. Waste oil collection rate is 49%. 15% of the waste oils collected are used in cement factories or

other allowed facilities for energy recovery. 82% of waste oils is processed in re refining facilities for

recovery as feedstock. (GEIR, 2008).

In the United Kingdom; there are lots of collectors. Waste oil collection rate is 50%. A great

proportion of the waste oil (68%) are combusted as additional fuel in iron and steel plants and

cement factories for energy recovery. Some of the waste oils (6%) are exported to EU countries to be

re refined. (GEIR, 2008).

In Finland; the government has authorized a company called EKOKEM for waste oil management.

Waste oil collection rate is 30%. (GEIR, 2008). Until 2007 all the waste oil collected was used for

energy recovery. In 2007 EKOKEM signed a 5 year protocol with the only refinery in Finland and

since 2007 a part of the waste oils collected is delivered to this refinery.


In Spain; waste oil management is carried out by two non-profit organizations founded by mineral

oil producers and importers. One of these organizations, SIGAUS, has been carrying out its activities

since 2008 with 105 members and 94% market share. The market share of the other authorized

organization SIGPI is 6%. Waste oil collection rate is 40%. 44% of the waste oils collected are used

in cement factories or other allowed facilities for energy recovery. 56% of waste oils is processed in

re refining facilities for recovery as feedstock. (GEIR, 2008).

In Portugal; waste oil management is carried out by a non-profit organization, SOGILUB with the

cooperation of Portuguese Businessmen’s Association and Recovery Associations founded in 2005

and Petroleum Association. The only authorized institution for waste oil collection is SOGILUB.

Waste oil collection rate is 45%. 59% of the waste oils collected are used in cement factories or other

allowed facilities for energy recovery. 12% of waste oils is processed in re refining facilities for

recovery as feedstock. 12% of the waste oils collected is imported to Spain for recovery as

feedstock. (GEIR, 2008).

In Greece; ELTEPE SA, founded in 2004 following the formation of the legislative framework, was

authorized for the collection of waste oils (setting up a national system for the collection of waste

oils). The amount of collection that was 8.000 tons before increased to 40.000 after 2004. The system

enables the collection of waste oils by licensed collectors and its sale to the refineries. Greece has

banned the reuse of waste oils that have gone only through pre-treatment and not recovered as energy

of refined.

In the USA; the refining industry is rather small and reuse of waste oils as additional fuel for energy

recovery is promoted. A centralized management like those in the European countries for waste oil

management does not exist in the USA. In this respect, the states adopt different practices and

industry statistics differ in each state. In some states, collection activities are supported by the taxes

from mineral oil sales, in some states waste oils are regarded as hazardous waste in order to prevent

contamination. Some local authorities allocate funds to support collection activities. The federal

policy of the USA government supports the reuse of re refined oils, recycling of waste oils by means

of different processes including incineration and disposal of waste oils.

In conclusion, this study indicates that waste oil recovery methods differ from country to country and

that there is no single model implementation that can be considered as the most appropriate.


3.3 EU COUNTRIES, USA AND TURKEY COMPARISONS

A graphical model was preferred to display the waste oil management data in order to demonstrate

the recorded waste oil collection capacities and the recovery practices in EU countries, USA and

Turkey more clearly. When the recorded waste oil collection capacities are compared, it is observed

that Turkey’s waste mineral oil collection capacity is very low compared to EU countries and USA.

In terms of waste oil management in Turkey, a significant amount of waste oil is uncontrolled and

therefore there is a great deal of unrecorded activity in the sector. (Figure 3.3.1)

EU Countries (*)

Unrecorded

26%

Recorded

74%

(*) GEIR,2006 Report

Total Amount of Mineral Oil= 5.7 0 million tons

Estimated Amount of Waste Oil = 2.85 million tons

USA(**)

Recorded

69%Unrecorded

31%

(**) U.S. Department of Energy, 2006

Total Amount of Mineral Oil = 2.50 billion galons

Estimated Amount of Waste Oil= 1.37 billion galons

Recorded

17%

Unrecorded

83%

(***) Ministry of Environment and Forestry Action Plan

Total Amount of Mineral Oil = 363 thousand tons

Estimated Amount of Waste Oil = 250 thousand tons

Figure 3.3.1- Waste Mineral Oil Collection Rates (EU, USA and TR)

Turkey (***)


When the recovery methods of the waste oils collected and recorded are compared, it is observed that

Turkey prefers feedstock recovery processes more than EU countries and USA and energy recovery

processes are employed less than other countries. (Figure 3.3.2)

EU Countries

Feedstock Recovery

37%

Energy Recovery

50%

Disposal 13%

USA

Feedstock Recovery

17%

Energy Recovery +

Disposal

83%

Disposal

7%

Energy Recovery

33%

Feedstock Recovery

60%

Figure 3.3.2- Waste Mineral Oil Recovery Methods (EU, USA and TR)

Turkey


4 WASTE MINERAL OIL RECOVERY METHODS

The properties of mineral oils change in time due to the degradation of the hydrocarbons and the

additives in its content. Moreover, these oils lose their functionality with the addition of other

contaminants, such as dust, dirt, unburned fuel, moisture or corrosion by-products, that do not exist

in the original compound and these used oils are defined as waste oils.

Although used oils are defined as ‘Waste’ and regarded as hazardous waste, they have the potential

to be recovered as base oil or energy due to their calorific value and the hydrocarbons in their

content. (Table 4.1.1). This potential of waste oils can be recovered in accordance with the oil

reclaiming, recycling or energy recovery principles stated in the Waste Hierarchy presented in the

Waste Directive (2008/98/EC, 19.11.2008) issued by the European Union.

Type of Fuel Calorific Value (kcal/kg) Natural Gas 13.000

Diesel 10.250

Waste Oil 9.600

Fuel Oil 6 9.600

Lignite 4.600

Table 4.1.1- Calorific Values of Various Fuels

EU and other developed countries’ legislations and practices on this issue regard waste oil as a

significant alternative energy source because of its high calorific value and support the processes that

will enable the recovery of waste oil as base oil by means of advanced industrial refining techniques.

A comparison of the total environmental impacts of waste oil regeneration and energy recovery

processes does not provide a definite decision about which is a more preferable process in terms of

environment and economy. (Table 4.1.2). This decision should be made concentrating on the key

environmental impacts and taking into account the whole life-cycle of products and materials.

In order to make a sound assessment on this issue, the total environmental impacts of the processes

to be implemented (collection, transportation, recycling and disposal impacts) should be considered

as a whole, the environmental impacts at each step should be assessed comparatively. By assessing

these processes with this approach, the necessity to take a series of requirements into consideration

emerges. These requirements are to make sure that the recovery technology employed does not create


an additional waste problem compared to the former situation of the product and that the product is

more productive than the former product in terms of energy.

Environmental Impacts*

Regeneration

(Vacuum Distillation + Clay

Treatment)

Energy Recovery

Waste - +

Emissions + _

Energy Consumption - +

Fossil Fuels Consumption + -

Global Warming Potential - +

Water Consumption - +

* European Commission Critical Review of Existing Studies and LCA on the Regeneration and Incineration of Waste Oils

Table 4.1.2- Environmental Impacts of recovery and regeneration methods to be considered

The table above indicates that there is a balanced situation between the energy recovery of the waste

mineral oils and re refining waste oils in order to produce base oil. According to this table, energy

recovery gives better results in terms of the wastes generated during the process, energy consumption

and global warming potential compared to regeneration process. On the other hand, in terms of total

emissions and fossil fuel consumption, refining practices give better results.

4.1 PREPARING FOR RE-USE

Oil reclaiming, that is, preparing waste oils for reuse is often confused with recycling which is used

for the recovery of the waste oil as feedstock. Preparing the waste oil for reuse can be defined as the

waste oil generator’s removing the contaminants in the waste oil and replacing the degraded

additives or having a mineral oil producer carry out this process. The ultimate aim is to prepare the

waste oil for reuse. In this respect, the mineral oil producer should take samples at the places where

mineral oil is used to conduct analysis in order to determine the amount of additives in the mineral

oil or to check the functionality of the oil. After this step, removing the contaminants in the oil with

simple processes carried out at the place where mineral oil is used or improving the quality by means

of additives can be defined as preparing for reuse.


4.2 RECYCLING

Recycling of waste mineral oils as feedstock can be defined as the removal of all pollutants,

oxidation products and particles from the waste oil to result in original oil suitable for the use

intended as per national and international standards and specifications.

The main principle is producing base oil from the waste oil that involves small quantities of

contaminants (water, fuel, sand, oxidation products etc.), is not biologically soluble and involves less

than 50 ppm PCB/PCT. Re refining for recovery is one of the technological options.

Recovery of the waste oils as base oil, which is the subject of this project, is a method employed for

its positive contribution to the effective use of raw materials and reduction of emission values as long

as it is carried out by means of appropriate technologies.

4.3 ENERGY RECOVERY

Recovery of waste oil as energy means adding the waste oil to the fuel to be used for energy in

licensed facilities. Using waste mineral oil as additional fuel in cement and iron and steel industry is

a worldwide practice for energy recovery. After the removal of the suspended solid contaminants and

water, a certain amount of the waste oil is added to the fuel and used in cement, lime, iron and steel

production facilities and power plants.

Recovery of waste oils as energy is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of oil at

1300-1400 0C to eliminate the contaminants in the oil. This process called incineration is widely

preferred in developed countries as it is an effective treatment of hazardous wastes. This method is

especially effective for the mineral oils that have lost their technical properties.


5 RE-REFINING TECHNOLOGIES

Used oil recycling technology has undergone significant changes over the past decade. With the

newly developed re-refining technologies it is possible to produce higher quality, sometimes even

API Group II base oil compared to the traditional and old acid clay method. The major concern in

the sector is that the consumers do not differentiate between the recovered lubricants and the

lubricants produced with simple physical extraction or chemical treatment and Group II high quality

refining products. There are a large number of re-refining technologies and the most widely

acknowledged ones are explained in detail in the following chapters.

5.1 THE ACID / CLAY RE-REFINING METHOD

In this process which has been widely used by re-refining facilities, used oil is initially subjected to

filtration and dewatering mechanisms. Light products (Ethane, Methane etc.) are removed at the

initial distillation step. It is then contacted with sulfuric acid which extracts oxygen compounds,

asphalt, resin derivatives, other nitrogen and sulphur based compounds and metal contaminants from

the oil. At the end of this process, desirable concentrations of paraffin and naphtalene molecules

remain in the oil. Next, the oil is mixed with active clay to remove the colour and odor. After the

filtration step, the product has the necessary qualifications to produce base oil. Figure 5.1.1 provides

the flow chart of the process.

One of the main drawbacks of this process is that it causes environmental pollution due to generation

of acid sludge and acid gas emission. Both residues are considered as hazardous waste as they

contain toxic metals and sulfuric acid and disposal costs are high. Therefore, many countries have

banned this process. However, it is still used in countries like Brazil, India and China to produce low

quality market product. Spent clay is usually used in ceramic and cement industries. Although there

are facilities that employ this technology in Turkey, it cannot be claimed that the production in these

facilities follow the requirements of the process as the acidification step of the process is skipped

because of the risks and the difficulty of the process.


Figure 5.1.1- Acid Clay Method Flowchart

Clay

Acid

Water and

Light

Products Waste Oil

Acidic Sledge

Clay and Filter

Waste

Base Oil

Gas Oil

Derivatives

Heavy

Residue

(Asphalt)

Acidification

Clay Treatment

and Filtration

Clay

Treatment

and

Filtration

Distillation


5.2 CEP PROCESS

This process was designed by Chemical Engineering Partners (CEP), a process technology company

offering a range of products and services for re-refining of waste / used lubricating oils. The process

is based on composition of feedstock, thin film evaporation and hydro processing.

Feedstock Analysis

In this method, the feedstock needs to be analyzed beforehand due to some criteria that should be

considered regarding the process and several restricting requirements in order to maximize the life

span of the existing equipment. Based on the figures at the end of the analysis, chemical treatment

should be carried out in order to reduce fouling in the process equipment. During the chemical

treatment, the water and the volatile compounds in the feedstock are eliminated. Next, the

contaminants in the oil such as used additives and the impurities that can contaminate the catalyst are

removed.

Thin Film Vacuum Distillation

After the pre treatment, the feedstock is delivered to a film evaporator that operates under vacuum.

Used oil is mixed and coked by continuously rotating pedals in the evaporation tank. The lubricant is

evaporated, the residue is asphalt material. The vacuum allows separation at temperatures below oil

cracking temperatures. The lower temperatures and short residence time in the wiped film evaporator

minimize coking that occurs in other types of distillation equipment. At this step, the additives and

high boiling hydrocarbons are separated from the base oil. The chemical additives and the heavy

metals that were in the initial lubricant remain in the asphalt that is now a product. Asphalt is sold to

be used in various areas such as roofing.

Hydro treating

In the final stage of the process, three hydro treating (Hydro finishing) reactors are used in series to

reduce sulfur to less than 300 ppm and increase saturates to over 90%, meeting the key specifications

for API Group II base oil. The final step is vacuum distillation to separate the hydro treated base oil

into multiple viscosity cuts in the fractionator.The flowchart of the process is provided in Figure

5.2.1. Hydro processing technology is one of the most widely used distillation processes to eliminate

undesirable components such as sulphur, nitrogen, metals or unsaturated hydrocarbons. The major

facilities that use this technology commercially are: Evergreen (Newark, CA, USA), Universal

Lubricants (Wichita, KS, USA) Heartland Petroleum (Columbus, OH, USA.) and L&T Recoil

(Hamina, Finland).


Figure 5.2.1- CEP Process Flow Chart


5.3 MOHAWK PROCESS

This process was initiated as a technological cooperation by Mohawk and CEP in 1989. First the

contaminants in the waste oil are removed with chemical treatment. Following this pre-process stage,

the light hydrocarbons and water are separated with atmospheric flash distillation. At the next step,

diesel fuel fractions are removed with flash distillation under vacuum. After this, asphalt is separated

from the oil in the thin film evaporator. Light products go through hydro finishing process at high

pressure (1000 psi) over a standard catalyst. In the final stage, different types of base oil are

produced by distillation. (Figure 5.3.1)

Figure 5.3.1- Mohawk Process Flow Chart

Mohawk process has been licensed for Evergreen (USA and Canada). With the improvements in the

available technology, the amount of water which must be treated as effluent was reduced and special

steps realized catalyst life to 8 – 12 months. It is possible to use the asphalt produced during the

process directly in construction industry and the quality of the product is quite high. The following

facilities employ this process: North Vancouver (Canada) 600 barrel/day, Evergreen (USA)

50kt/year and Southern Oil Refineries (Australia) 20kt/year. According to a research published in

1996, feedstock cost constitutes 42.7% of the total product cost in Mohawk Process.

65

Diesel 0,5

Chemical Additive

Waste Oil 100

Asphalt 14

Light Gases 4

Water 10 Diesel 6

H2 Hydroprocess

Unit

Medium

Light

Thin Film

Evaporator

Heavy

Pretreatment

Unit

Flash

Distillation

Flash Vacuum Distillatio

Vacuum

Distillation

Distillation

Light Gases 0,5


5.4 HYLUBE PROCESS

UOP designed HyLube™ Technology upon demand from Puralube in 1995. This process that

operated on a continuous basis is made up of three stages: Pre Treatment, Catalytic Hydro processing

and Product Recovery and Finishing

Pre Treatment

The feedstock is first filtered to remove solids and then mixed with hot hydrogen in a specially

designed, pressurized mixing chamber. The heated mixture is sent to a flash separator and the flash

separator bottoms liquid is routed to a residue stripper. The combined flash separator vapour and

residue stripper overheads are processed through a catalytic guard reactor for soluble metals removal.

The asphalt residue is suitable for use in asphalt industry. The gas concentration evaporated in the

flash separator involves hydrocarbons up to the level of C4 and it is sent to the catalyst unit. Initial

mixing of hot hydrogen gas with the feed at 4800C and 80 bar pressure results in the separation of the

high value lubricating oil molecules in a high pressure / high temperature environment, which avoids

coking and fouling.

Catalytic Hydroprocessing

In the multi-stage high-pressure system, the gaseous hydrocarbon materials are initially separated

from the residual impurities and metal compounds (guard reactor), and then processed for

desulphurization. Using patented hydrogenation catalysts, a deep saturation of olefins and aromatics

is achieved (conversion reactor), which are then hydro finished at adequate high temperatures and

pressures. These processes involve intense desulphurization and elimination of other heteroatom's of

all base oil fractions.

Product Recovery and Finishing

After depressurization, whereby the surplus hydrogen is scrubbed to remove the chlorides and

sulphides generated in the hydrogenation stages, the hydrogen is used as a recycle gas. Processing

conditions such as pressure, space velocity, and hydrogen circulation rate are diverse from unit to

unit depending on feedstock quality. The processed feedstock is converted into a wide boiling range

hydrocarbon product, which is subsequently fractionated into neutral oil products of different

viscosity by vacuum distillation to be used for lube oil blending. Among these products, besides base

oil fractions, by-products such as naphtha, gas oil, gas fuels are also of high quality. For example, the

sulphur level in the diesel product with high cetane number is below 5ppm. Production of such

products is preferred to compensate for the high catalyst costs in the process. (Figure 5.4.1)


Figure 5.4.1- HyLube Process Flow Chart


5.5 REVIVOIL PROCESS

Revivoil™ process was developed jointly by Axens and Viscolube in Viscolube facilities. It is made

up of three sections: Pre Flash, Thermal De-Asphalting and High Pressure Hydro finishing.

Pre Flash

Water present in the used oil feedstock has to be removed. In this stage, the feedstock is heated to

140 degrees Celsius and then distilled in a column where the water and light hydrocarbons are

separated.

Thermal De-Asphalting TDA

The dehydrated oil is distilled at 360 degrees Celsius in a vacuum de-asphalting column (TDA). The

asphaltic and bituminous products remain at the bottom.

High Pressure Hydro Finishing

The base oil fractions and vacuumed gas oil content are treated with hydrogen in the catalytic reactor

and go through hydro processing in order to improve product quality. The H2S that is generated

during the reaction is refined and returned to the process as hydrogen feedback. With the following

stripping step, the base oil and diesel fractions with the desired properties are produced. As a result

of these treatments, the metals, organic acids and other residual compounds involving sulphur and

nitrogen are eliminated from the base oil mixture. Moreover, this process adjusts the colour and

temperature stability requirement to produce base oil. This process is applied in: Viscolube (Pieve

Fissiraga, Italy) 100 kt/year, Agip Petrol Refinery (Ceccano, Italy), Jedlizce Refinery (Poland)

80kt/year, Surabaya Refinery (Indonesia) 40kt/year, Merak Refinery (Indonesia), Huelva and

Cartagena Refineries (Spain), Hellas Refinery (Greece) and other facilities in Pakistan and Serbia.

(Figure 5.5.1)


Figure 5.5.1- Revivoil Process Flow Chart

5.6 AVISTA OIL SOLVENT EXTRACTION PROCESS

Avista Oil (USA) bought the licence of the process from Enprotec Vaxon (Denmark) in 2000 and

commercialized the process under the name of Avista Oil Solvent Extraction –Vaxon™ Technology.

The process consists of chemical process, vacuum distillation and solvent extraction stages. This

process is used in Dollbergen-Uetze and Kalundborg facilities of Avista Oil to produce Group I Base

Oil.

In the initial stage of the process, the water and light hydrocarbons in the feedstock are separated

with pre-flash. In the chemical treatment that follows, alkali hydroxides (NaOH, KOH) and the

chloride compounds, metals, additives and acid compounds in the used oil are extracted. The

extraction takes place when the oil soluble alkali hydroxides compound with the asphaltic molecules

of the undesired substances in the waste oil with the help of the catalyst. The remaining light

hydrocarbons, the catalyst, base oil derivatives and other residues are extracted in a series of

extractions following the chemical treatment. At the solvent extraction stage of the process,

Enhanced Selective Refining-ESR™ method is used. At ESR stage, the extracted oil is fed into the


extraction column from the bottom. While the oil keeps rising, polar solvents such as

dimethylformamide and N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) are added from the top of the column for

liquid/liquid extraction and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heteroatomic compounds are

extracted. The bottoms product of this extraction can be used as asphalt material or energy source.

The solvent in the distillate can be stripped and recycled at the next step. The remaining neutral base

oil compounds are distilled under vacuum at the final stage and fractionated. (Figure 5.6.1)

Figure 6.6.1- Avista Oil Process Flow Chart

5.7 CYCLON PROCESS

Used oils taken from storage tanks are dehydrated and the light hydrocarbons are removed by

distillation. The oils in the residues are extracted with propane in the de-asphalting unit and sent to

the hydro processing unit where the other oils will be processed. Then they are treated with hydrogen

and fractionated based on the desired base oil features. After the additives are added they are ready

for sale. Cyclon Hellas Company in Greece uses this process with an annual capacity of 34 kt/year.

http://en.bab.la/dictionary/english-turkish/polycyclic-aromatic-hydrocarbons


5.8 INTERLINE PROCESS

In the first stage, the used oil is treated with ammonium hydroxide and/or potassium hydroxide to

neutralize acidic contaminants. Then the oil is mixed with propane for the selection of hydrocarbons.

In the next stage, the oil is refined in the licensed Interline process. With this process, the additives

and the solid impurities remain in the asphalt residue. In the final stage, base oil is produced by

vacuum distillation and clay adsorption. With this process, it is possible to produce 70-75% base oil

by separating the water, degraded additives, wear metals and other contaminants in the oil. Some

facilities in UK, USA, South Korea and Spain use this technology.

5.9 RELUBE PROCESS

Used oils taken from storage tanks are dehydrated and the light hydrocarbons are removed with

distillation. Next, vacuum distillation is carried out in the Thin Film Evaporator at 320oC to remove

the heavy residues that contain various contaminants and other undesirable compounds. Then the oils

are mixed with hydrogen and the sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen based compounds are separated with

the help of the catalyst. This improves the quality of the base oil produced. There are recovery

facilities that employ this technology in the USA, Greece and Tunisia.

5.10 MEINKEN PROCESS

The waste oil passes through the filters to remove solid impurities and it is dehydrated by distillation.

The dewatered oil is treated with 4-5% active clay for adsorption and filtered before being sent to the

film evaporator. The film evaporator operates at 290 co and 10–15 kPa. In this process, the fuel

fraction is separated from the oil and base oils are produced with repeating clay filtering. The

disadvantages of this process are that it produces waste streams like acid sludge and spent clay

resulting in a problem of waste disposal. Therefore, it has been replaced by newer technologies.

5.11 PROP PROCESS

Prop technology was developed by Phillips Petroleum Company. The key elements of the process are

the chemical demetalization and a hydrogenation process. The first step is mixing an aqueous

solution of diammonium phosphate with heated base oils in order to separate metals and other

residual compounds. Then the mixture is filtered to remove the metallic phosphates' generated as a


result of this reaction. In the second stage, water and light hydrocarbons are removed through air

stripping. After the stripping phase, hydrogen is added to the mixture and a bed of clay is used to

absorb the remaining traces of contaminants to avoid poisoning of the catalyst. In the final stage, the

oils go through Ni/Mo catalyst in the hydrogenation reactor. The sulphur, oxygen, chloride and

nitrogen compounds in the oil are eliminated and the colour of the oil is improved with this process.

5.12 SNAMPROGETTI PROCESS

In the first stage, the water and the light hydrocarbons are eliminated in the extraction column. Next,

waste oil is refined with liquid propane at 75–95oC in the Propane De-Asphalting Unit and distilled

under vacuum. With this step, the majority of the contaminants such as asphalt compounds, oxidized

hydrocarbons and suspended solids are separated from the oil. In the final stage, base oils with

different properties are produced in the hydro processing unit. Today, a facility in Italy with an

annual capacity of 55 kt/year employs this technology.

5.13 SOTULUB PROCESS

The main distinction of this process is that a chemical called Antipall is added to the mixture at the

beginning of the refining process in order to prevent blockages in the equipment. In the next stage,

used oil goes through vacuum distillation for the removal of water and light hydrocarbons. The

dehydrated oil is heated again to approximately 280°C and drawn to a stripper where gas oil is

removed from the oil under vacuum. The stripped oil is delivered to a distillation column coupled

with a thin film evaporator where it is distilled under high vacuum in order to shorten distillation

time. This operation results in a distillate and a bottom asphaltic residue where heavy metals,

chemical additives, polymers and degraded products are concentrated.

This process requires additional refining steps for the improvement of product quality. Today two

facilities in Tunisia (16 kt/year) and Kuwait (20 kt/ year) employ this technology. In order to process

1 ton of waste oil, 15 kg Antipall, 65 kwh electricity, 85 kg fuel oil, 800 kg vapour, 2 m3 water, 6 kg

HCl and 0.4 kg heating oil is consumed.


5.14 ENTRA PROCESS

This process is based on rapid feed rate of the waste oil into the reactor. The injection process takes

place under high temperature and vacuum with retention time in the order of milliseconds. During

this process, evaporation and/or chemical reactions fractionate the bonds of the organometallic

compounds resulting from additives while preserving the structure of hydrocarbon and synthetic

lubricants. After the fractionation, the oil is refined with 1% sulphuric acid and %1 clay producing

sludge. Sodium and natural absorbents are used to bind the environmentally hazardous compounds

generated during the process. During thermal degradation, temperature should be under control to

prevent the degradation of useful compounds. To be able to employ this technology, the waste oil

that will be fed into the system should be selected and categorized according to its source.

5.15 ATOMIC VACUUM PROCESS

Pre-treatment of the used oil is carried out using two natural polymers to remove carbon sludge

substantially. Molecular distillation is employed in this process to recycle 95% of the available oil.

The distilled oil is bleached using active clay to get metals free base oil of required viscosity. The

clay also improves the color and odor of the final product. Approximately 180 grams of clay is used

to refine 4 liters of used oil.

5.16 MATTHYS - GARAP PROCESS

This method is a used oil recovery process in which centrifugation is used. This process is based on

the principle of the degradation of stable emulsions in the oil by increasing the centrifugal force of

the equipment to over 6000 G. The first step of this process is the centrifugation of the waste oil

under 80 oC in order to separate the large particles in the oil. Next, the water, solvents and light

hydrocarbons in the oil are removed by flash distillation at 180 oC. Also some additives are fed into

the pre flash unit in order to reduce residues and prevent corrosion of the equipment. After the pre

treatment, the oil is distilled at 360 oC in the vacuum distillation column so that the oil, gas oil and

heavy products are separated. After the oil is cooled, it is mixed with acid and the refining continues.

The acidic tar generated as a result of these chemical reactions is removed by centrifugation. After

the acidic oil is neutralized and treated with clay, it is filtered and turned into base oil. Today, there

are two facilities in France using this technology.


5.17 ROSE PROCESS

Deasphalted high quality base oil is produced with this method. ROSE technology is based on the

use of a light, readily available paraffinic solvent to extract deasphalted oil from a feedstock rich in

asphaltenes. The first stage of the process filtering used oil to eliminate the solid impurities. Next,

light hydrocarbons are removed and the oil is dehydrated by distillation at 120 oC and under

atmospheric pressure. Then ethane or propane is added to the oil under supercritical conditions (5-15

Mpa and 20-80 oC) to extract the contaminants. The contaminants are removed from the bottom of

the column and the oil – solvent mixture is delivered to the next distillation column that operates at

40-200 oC and 1-100 kPa. Here the solvents are separated from the lubricants. The solvent-free

extracts go through hydro processing to improve the content quality. The advantage of supercritical

solvent recovery process is the reduced operational cost. Moreover, the investment costs are lower as

the size and complexity of the facility are reduced.

5.18 PROTERRA PROCESS

This process is based essentially on vacuum distillation and solvent extraction applied to vacuum

distillates. Final products are two kinds of high quality base oil. By-products are vacuum residues,

light oils, effluent water, extracts and vapour that cannot be condensed. In the first step the used oil is

treated and light hydrocarbons are separated in flash drum. Also the additives that prevent blockage

in the equipment are added to oil at this stage. Next, the gas oil and asphalt compounds are separated

from the oil with vacuum distillation at 250 oC. The mixture is delivered to the liquid/liquid

extraction unit after it is cooled. At 40-65 o

C, the treated base oil fraction is extracted with 25-100%

N-Methyl-2-Pirrolidon (NMP), where unsaturated, aromatic and heteroatom containing molecules

are eliminated. Then the solvent is separated from the extract and returned to the process after being

refined. Although GF-3 base oil is produced with this process, the lack of hydrogenation unit at the

finishing stage prevents it from reaching API Group II standard. Today a facility with an annual

capacity of 205 kt is being established by Probex in Wellsville, Ohio (USA).


5.19 FEMD- TECH PROCESS

In the initial stage, the feedstock is dehydrated through the thin film evaporator at 95-100oC. Then it

goes through distillation under atmospheric conditions to separate solvent and fuel and base oil is

produced. The power consumption of the system is 0,245-0,262 kWh/lt and used mineral oil

consumption is 5-10 lt/ton. Product yield is 80%.

5.20 SEQUOIA PROCESS

Sequoia’s process technology for recycling used lubricating oils is based on distillation, adsorption

and hydro treating processes. Specially designed evaporators preserve oil quality and prevent

corrosion and fouling of equipment. To refine 1000 lt of used oil, 90 kWh electricity, 180000 kcal of

fuel, 700 liters of water and 0,2 kg of catalyst is consumed.. Product yield is 73%.

5.21 TWFE PROCESS

TWFE technology can extend the yields of saleable products up to 95% - 97% of the used oil feed.

The process is solvent-free. In the first stage, the waste oil is dehydrated and the solvent by-products

are removed. Next, it is processed through the wet film evaporator. In the final stage, it is refined

through hydro processing (API Group II) or clay-filter process (API Group I). The process is suitable

for waste oils involving high amounts of water and additives and for waste turbine, hydraulic and

synthetic lubricants.

5.22 STP PROCESS

The process consists of the following steps: dehydration, gas oil removal, vacuum distillation,

chemical processing / hydro processing and final fractionation. API Group I base oil is produced

through chemical processing and API Group II base oil is produced through hydro processing.

Usually at the end of the refining process, 7% water and light products, 5% gas oil, 75% base oil and

13% aspfaltenes are produced. Vacuum distillation is carried out under high vacuum conditions, high

temperature and by thin film evaporator. Thin film evaporator achieves oil purification from metals,

heavy polymers, and other contaminants. Hydro finishing provides deep removal of further

contaminants such as chlorinated, sulfurous, and oxygenated organic compounds and polyaromatic

hydrocarbons improving product quality. Finished oil is then fractionated to produce light oil (SN-

150) and heavy oil (SN-500).


5.23 RECYCLON PROCESS

Process yield is 95%. The steps involved in the process are refining with sodium and vacuum

distillation. Sodium is used in the process in order to turn the unsaturated olefines into high boiling

compounds. The compounds with low boiling point are separated from the dehydrated oil and it is

mixed with metallic sodium under high temperature. The reaction takes place at over 180 oC and

takes only a few minutes. Next, the products generated as a result of the reaction are sent to the

distillation column under 1 mbar. Oils with varying viscosities can be produced by fractionating

distillation.


6 COMPARISON OF AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGIES

It is possible to categorise waste oil re-refining technologies under three main titles. These

technologies are: 1- Acid-Clay Process, 2- Hydroprocessing, 3- Solvent Extraction. The main criteria

for the comparison of these methods are mentioned below and the advantages and disadvantages of

each method are listed under subtitles.

Acid-Clay Method is no more a widely preferred method due to the additional hazardous waste

(spent clay and acid sludge) generated during the process and the risks of contact with strong acids.

Therefore, it is possible to claim that Hydroprocessing and Solvent Extraction methods are the only

acceptable technologies in present-day conditions.

When the available methods are compared in terms of initial investment costs, Solvent Extraction

process requires a relatively small-scale investment. However, depending upon the technology

adopted, the total cost might be higher than Hydroprocessing due to the operating costs to make up

for the solvent loss. On the other hand, when compared to Hydroprocessing, catalyst is not required

in Solvent Extraction. Moreover, it is not necessary to establish a hydrogen gas supply facility in this

method and it poses a smaller risk concerning operation safety.

When the available methods are compared in terms of the qualities of the feedstock required to

obtain the intended product, it is observed that in order to obtain Group II/II+ oil in Solvent

Extraction method, the feedstock that will be processed needs to be a homogeneous mixture.

Therefore the quality of the base oil produced with this technology is directly related to the

feedstock. In this respect, despite the higher investment cost of Hydroprocessing technology, it is

advantageous because of the Group II quality product output it produces independent of the quality

and source of the feedstock. The major drawback of Hydroprocessing in this regard is that the

catalyst used is sensitive to the quality of the feedstock. For example, using low quality oils, such as

industrial waste oils, as feedstock might shorten the catalyst life.

Another point that should be considered is that the facilities all around the world using the same

technology and have similar product outputs are able to reduce cost of the OEM tests by exchanging

their stocks of different feedstock between each other. Companies like Puralube and CEP try this

approach in the facilities around the world that use their technologies and therefore have a significant

advantage in the base oil market.


6.1 ACID CLAY METHOD

Features

Low capital investment. Makes it most cost effective for small and tiny scale plants.

No advanced instruments, no skilled operators required.

This is a proven technology that worked for many years worldwide.

Drawbacks

Causes Environmental pollution due to generation of acid sludge and acid gas emission.

Disposal of acid sludge is a problem.

High operation costs, continuous clay consumption, disposal cost of spent clay. The process

requires high temperatures

Very high clay consumption, low yield, inconsistent quality. (High viskosity, API Group I

Base Oil),

The sulphur and PAHs in the oil cannot be separated, the contaminants in the oil remain in the

base oil.

Gives Lower yield due to loss of oil in sludge as well as clay since higher dosage of clay is

required.

Life span of the equipment used in acidic environment is reduced.

6.2 HYDROPROCESSING METHODS

Features

Product quality and yield are high (API Group II Base Oil),

PBC and Chloride can be eliminated efficiently

PNA can be eliminated efficiently at high pressure and temperature

Drawbacks

The process requires high pressure, high temperature and hydrogen usage

It requires high safety standards, H2S and HCl can be generated during the process

Investment cost and operational costs are high, operational efficiency is low

A separate facility needs to be established on the field in order to provide hydrogen to the

process continuously

Expensive catalysts are required


6.3 SOLVENT EXTRACTION METHODS

Features

“API Group II/II+ Base Oil” can be produced based on the quality of the waste oil,

Toxic Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and PNA can be completely eliminated,

All of the synthetic base oil compounds like PAO / hydrocarbon oils are preserved,

The process is carried out under lower pressure and temperature compared to other

technologies,

The process has high product operational efficiency,

Small quantities of waste and comtaminants are generated, waste disposal cost is low.

Drawbacks

The product quality is dependent upon the waste oil mixture used as feedstock. High quality

feedstock is required for high quality Group II, Group II+ base oil. In hydro processing, with

hydrogen saturation, the product quality is not dependent on the quality of the feedstock.

Based on the waste oil used, the solvent costs can be high.

6.4 RE REFINING TECHNOLOGY IN TURKEY

A "Regulatory Compliance, Technical Capacity and Quality System Competence” study has been

carried out with the voluntary participation of 15 facilities licensed by the Ministry of Environment

and Urban Planning, in order to investigate the waste oil re refining practices on site within the scope

of the project. As the 15 facilities examined in this project constitute approximately 50% of the total

number of licensed re refining facilities in Turkey, (Figure 6.4.1), it is believed that the audit and

examination findings allow a general assessment within the scope of the project. Findings on the

subjects are analyzed in the following chapters.


Figure 6.4.1 – The Existing and Investigated Waste Oil Refining and Regeneration Facilities

6.4.1 Technologies implemented in the re refining plants

Two different processes have been observed in the facilities.

Batch Production

Continuous Production

Batch Production Process

It has been observed that in 14 of the 15 plants that have been investigated production is carried out

through a batch production process. These plants do not produce base oil, waste oil is processed to be

reused as mineral oil. The main steps of this process and the findings are as follows:

Waste Oil Collection Unit: Waste oils are categorized according to their source or chemical features

before processing and delivered to waste oil storage tanks of different capacities. The major

deficiencies of these units are; lack of waste oil marking in the storage tanks, lack of spill basin

around the tanks and lack of waste oil overfill prevention measures. Also, it has been observed that

an oil separator equipment to control contamination in the tank storage area in case of oil spills and

overfills does not exist in some facilities.

Settling: The waste oils stored are settled in tanks for 48 hours to dehydrate the oil and to settle the

residues. It has been observed that in some plants heat is applied during storage at this step of the

process. After this treatment, the bottom residues are delivered to the hazardous waste collection area

and the effluent water to the waste water treatment facility.


Pre Filtration: Waste oils are filtered through filter press or filter tubes before entering pre heating

process.

Pre Heating: Waste oils are heated up to 60-100 0C in pre heating reactors to eliminate the water in

the oil.

Re-settling: After the heating step, the water settles to the bottom of the tank because of the density

difference. The water at the bottom is drained off. The dehydrated product is stored in temporary

storage tanks.

Vacuum Reactor (Vacuum Distillation): The product is registered through mechanic filters or filter

press. It is distilled under vacuum (400-760 mm Hg) at 200-400 0C usually in vertical reactors. The

reactors are heated by hot oil circulating through coils. Another method used for heating is carried

out with fire tube boilers. Heating oil is used in this process. This treatment is preferred mostly in

horizontal reactors. Following the treatment in the reactor, water, solvent and oil compounds are

extracted as distillation product groups. The bottoms product in the reactor is asphalt residue.

Condensation: Each product group is condensed separately and stored in separate storage tanks.

Acidification: After distillation, acidification is carried out in order to eliminate the remaining

contaminants from the oil product groups. 0.1-2.0% H2SO4 is used at this step. The acidic sludge at

the end of this process is disposed as hazardous waste. It has been observed that acidification process

is used only in three plants.

Settling: The semi finished products are settled before being sent to the clay unit. The water and

residues at the bottom of the settling tank are removed.

Clay Unit: The dehydrated contaminant-free oil is treated with active clay, earth or Bentonit at 100-

120 0C in the clay reactor to improve colour. Clay consumption ranges between 1-5%.

Final Filtration: The oil goes through filter press at 60-800C. The filter cakes are stored in

hazardous waste storage tanks to be transported to licensed disposal facilities.

Storage: After the filtration, the oil is stored in end product storage tanks to be used as feedstock in

mineral oil production.

Blending Unit: Various additives are added to the base oil taken from the storage tanks.


Packaging: Although most of the plants have the capacity to pack the finished product according to

the relevant legislation, upon examination of the sales invoices of the facilities it has been observed

that the products are sold as bulk product.

Continuous Production Process

Out of the 15 facilities investigated, only 1 plant adopts continuous production process to produce

base oil. It has been stated that the process equipment of the plant is ready and it will start production

in the second quarter of 2012. The main steps of the process to be applied in this plant and the

findings are as follows:

Waste Oil Collection Unit: Waste oils are categorized according to their source or chemical features

before processing and delivered to waste oil storage tanks of different capacities.

Settling: The waste oils stored will be settled in tanks for 48 hours to dehydrate the oil and to settle

the residues. After this treatment, the bottom residues will be delivered to the hazardous waste

collection area and the effluent water to the waste water treatment facility.

Filtration: Waste oils are filtered through filter tubes before entering pre heating process.

Pre heating: The waste oil tanks are heated with superheated steam from the boilers in order to

dehydrate oil and preserve its viscosity. It is estimated that the water content of the waste oil received

will be approximately 10%.

Separator: Waste oil will go through the separator so that the water and the residues will be

eliminated. It is estimated that the ratio of water in the oil will be 1-3% after this step.

Filtration: Filtration will be carried out through Niagara press filters. Due to the technology of the

filter, filter cloth or filter paper cannot be used. Instead, filter cakes are formed between the filter

plates and filtration is carried out by filter cakes. Therefore, additives like filter powder or perlite are

added to the mixture to be filtered.

Flash/Evaporation Unit: The waste oil is heated up to 300°C in the atmospheric flash tank to

eliminate the remaining water and light distillates. Distilled water and light distillates obtained from

distillation are delivered to separate tanks. Accumulated water will be delivered to the waste water


treatment facility and the light distillates to the solvent recycling unit. The product obtained from the

evaporator under vacuum at 160°C is delivered to the feed tank of the fractionation unit.

Fractionation Unit: The dehydrated oil in the feed tank of the fractionation unit will be fed into the

two-stage column system for further purification and fractionation. The operating heat of the

columns is between 350-390 °C and the columns operate under vacuum. Thin Film Evaporator

fractionates the waste oil into two as bottoms product (bitumunous compounds) and end product. The

bottoms product will be stored in the temporary storage tank at the end of this step, then it will be

sent to the storage tank. The bottoms product can be used in high temperature conveyors in

construction industry or as auxiliary material in asphalt construction sites. The bottoms product is

stored in the asphalt tank. End products are processed with a mixture of steam and air at 150-200 0C

under a pressure of 2-3 bars to adjust viscosity. At the end of the whole process, the base oil will be

stored in three 25 m3 storage tanks according to its viscosity.

6.4.2 Operating Conditions of the Facilities

It has not been possible to observe the actual production process in any of the mineral oil recovery

plants investigated within the scope of the project. Two of the facilities were under construction and

there was ongoing process development in some of the other facilities. There was not an active

fractional distillation unit in any of the plants. Only one plant that was planned for continuous

production has this unit but this plant has not started production yet. A majority of the facilities do

not pay enough attention to the registration of the process requirements and sampling. There are

contaminated areas in production sites. The products are mostly sold in bulk form, most of the filling

and packaging facilities in these facilities are not used.

6.4.3 The products produced at the facilities

The lubricants produced at these plants are blended with various additives and sold as bulk products.

TS Certificates of these products are as follows:

TS 12153- Lubricating oils, industrial oils and related products (Class L) - Moulding oils

(Group B) – Class 1: Produced from petroleum based base oil - Class 2: Recovered from

waste oil Type 2: Used after aqueous emulsion

TS 10481- Lubricants, industrial oil and related products (class L) specification of categories

L-AN, L-FC, L-FD and L-G used for machine tools.


TS 11207- Lubricating oils for use in machines lubricated by complete dissipation type oiling

system

TS 13350- Marine fuels – Products blended with fuel - This standard covers the products

recovered from petroleum based wastes and used by blending with marine Fuel specified in

TS ISO 8217 at certain ratios.

TS 11485- This standard covers gear oils used for motor vehicles. It does not cover gear oils

for open or closed system.

TS 11874- This standard covers blending oils recovered from waste oils and used in textile

industry.

TS 13369- Lubricants – This standard covers paraffinic and naphtalene based base oils. This

standard was renewed on 31.01.2012. No companies have received the renewed certification

of the standard.

TS ISO 11158- Lubricants, industrial oils and related products (class L) -- Family H

(hydraulic systems) -- Specifications for categories HH, HL, HM, HV and HG

Although some of the standards above contain the statement “Recovered From Waste Oils”, in some

of the standards this statement does not exist. When TSE website was checked regarding the

asphaltic materials obtained as bottoms product during the production process, it was observed that

no companies have received certification regarding these bottom products.

6.4.4 Waste Generated at the Facilities in the Production Process

The Hazardous Waste Storage Areas in the facilities have some defects in terms of legislative

requirements. The probable wastes that will be generated during the process and the waste codes are

given below:

07 01 08, other still bottoms and reaction residues

07 01 10, other filter cakes and spent absorbents

15 01 10, packaging containing residues of or contaminated by dangerous substances

19 11 01, spent filter clays

19 11 05, sludges from on-site effluent treatment containing dangerous substances

There are some records indicating that the wastes generated at the facilities during the recovery

process are transferred to licensed disposal facilities in accordance with the waste codes above.

However, the amount of waste generated could not be correlated with the characterization of the


waste mineral oil received at the facility, the amount of chemicals used at the facility and production

figures. Therefore it is not possible to claim that all waste generated at the facilities are transferred to

licensed disposal facilities.

6.4.5 Assessment of the Facilities in terms of Management Strategies

Waste Oil Re refining Facilities have their management systems certified by accredited certification

authorities (ISO 9001-Quality Management System, ISO 14001-Environmental Management System

and OHSAS 18001-Occupational Health and Safety Management System). Although these facilities

are certified claiming that they meet the requirements of a management system, the investigations

reveal that these requirements are not fully met. For a more efficient implementation of the systems;

the defined procedure, directives and forms should be functional and tangible proof of this

functionality should be observed in the audits carried out by relevant parties regarding the practice of

these implementations. After the general assessment carried out at the facilities using the audit

checklist questions prepared for the examination of the management systems, it has been observed

that a majority of the waste oil re refining facilities have significant problems in meeting the

requirements of the Quality, Environment, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.

6.4.6 Areas to Improve in the Production Process at the Facilities

It has been observed that sampling of the waste oil from its reception into the facility to the end

product has not been carried out properly. This impedes the traceability of the product.

In the mass balances submitted to the Ministry, the amount of water in the waste oil and

disposed as effluent during the production is stated by the recovery facility and its accuracy can

only be confirmed by the laboratory results. Implementation of electronic data tracking systems

in order to maintain the traceability of these data will prove to be beneficial.

Active clay consumption levels are not clear. Therefore the amounts of the waste generated and

the waste transferred to the disposal facilities cannot be compared properly. Although it is

claimed that the amount of acid and active clay consumptions is documented by laboratories, it

was not possible to access the documentation. Using laboratory facilities to determine acid and

clay consumption amounts before the process is beneficial for traceability.

Technology Compliance Reports are prepared in the form of process description of the waste

oil from its reception into the facility to the end product. Each step that the waste oil goes

through during the process should be illustrated with examples, samples of the waste oil should


be taken at each step and the energy recovery yield of the processes should be indicated in the

reports.

Storage tanks should be checked periodically. Wearing and cracks may occur due to corrosion.

The facilities should keep samples of the waste oil during the process starting with the

feedstock.

After sale follow up of the products is almost nonexistent. The products are offered to the

market under different names rather than Standard names.

Sectoral Problems and Expectations of Waste Oil Processors:

Waste Oil Analysis Prices: Waste oil category analysis prices are around 1.000TL. Facilities

that produce 100-1000 kg waste oil find this price high. It is possible to make improvement by

adding the definition for waste oil collection from small scale waste oil generators into the

legislation.

Difficulties of Waste Oil Collection: The feedstock of Waste Oil Recovery Facilities is the

waste of other facilities. Therefore raw material procurement is not steady and continuous. The

waste oil that is transferred from the Waste Oil Processor cannot be traced with efficient

process audits or energy consumption calculators. It can only be checked based on the

declaration of the facility. Naturally, these kind of audit problems create results susceptible to

exploitation.

Waste Oil Prices: It is stated that in several tenders issued by the government agencies, waste

oil is offered to the market at a price of 2.000 TL/Kg. It is observed that when the processing

costs and other costs such as SCT are added to this price, the factory cost might be over the

sale price of the base oil.

Licence Terms: EMRA and Environment permit term is 5 years. It is not possible for these

facilities to pay off in 5 years due to high investment costs. Remaining inactive due to

regulation changes would mean loss for the companies. Associating the regulations with the

standards, extending licence terms, defining and implementing audit criteria, increasing audit

frequency, defining and implementing penalty criteria would help to improve the processes.


7 SUGGESTIONS REGARDING PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

The subject of this chapter is the pre-feasibility study (preliminary study) for the implementation of

this project that will contribute to the efforts to keep the risks that the waste mineral oils create for

the Marmara Region ecosystem under control.

The results of the preliminary surveys and the pre-feasibility studies conducted on issues considered

necessary are shared in the following pages as they are believed to have the potential to be beneficial

to the feasibility studies of the target group. Among the areas of study are: market and facility

capacity, sales and marketing, feedstock, region and location, project engineering, general expenses,

facility, management and sales expenses, labor force, project implementation and financial analysis,

investment costs, project finance, production costs and commercial profitability.

7.1 DETERMINING THE CAPACITY OF THE RE REFINING PLANT

One of the most realistic approaches to determine the capacity of a waste mineral oil re refining plant

that is to be built in the region stated within the framework of the project is to analyze available data

on the potential sources that will be used to supply the waste mineral oil that will be used as

feedstock in the plant.

7.1.1 Determining the Potential Amount of Feedstock

The calculations on the potential amount of feedstock are based on mineral oil market data provided

on a voluntary basis by mineral oil producers, Foreign Trade Statistics published by TSI and

declarations submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning. According this data,

mineral oil consumption totaled 411 thousand tons in 2011.

According to scientific research, 65% of motor oils become waste after use. On the other hand,

process oils are completely used in the production process and do not generate any waste. For

hydraulic oils, this ratio is about 70%. A summary of the data obtained from the report on the results

of the research conducted on this issue is provided in Table 7.1.1(Concawe, 1996).

Based on this data, it can be claimed that 50% of mineral oils become waste after use. When the

amount of mineral oil consumption in Turkey in the last 2 years (Table3.1.1) is analyzed together

with this data, it is possible to state that the amount of waste mineral oil generated in Turkey will

never be less than 200 thousand tons and that the amount of waste motor oil will never be less than

150 thousand tons under normal circumstances.


Based on the consumption data, it is estimated that there is a potential of 250 thousand tons of waste

mineral oil that can be recovered. In this respect, it will be a more reasonable attitude to take into

consideration this figure for the studies to determine the capacity of the plant.

Type of Lubricant Waste Oil Generated (%)

Transformer Oils 95

Gear Oils 75

Hydraulic Oils 70

Motor Oil 65

Metal Processing Oils 20

Process Oils 0

Table 7.1.1- Waste oil ratios generated after Mineral Oil use (Source: Concawe)

7.1.2 Regional Resources to Supply Feedstock

The research on the resources to supply waste oil as feedstock to the re refining plant that will

be built in the region stated within the framework of the project is based on PETDER’s city-

wise waste mineral oil collection statistics in 2011. The main reason for this is that there is not a

more valid database on the issue and that waste mineral oil is the most appropriate feedstock for the

re refining facilities.

In 2011, PETDER collected 20.576 tons of waste motor oil from all over Turkey. In the assessment

based on the city-wise amounts in this data it is projected that a region of 22 cities including Istanbul

and neighboring cities, that is whole Marmara Region, Northwestern parts of Western Black Sea,

Northern Aegean and Central Anatolia Regions, can provide feedstock for the plant to be built. The

main reason for this projection is that the waste oil collected from these cities in the region that is

selected as the feedstock resource constitutes 66% of the total waste motor oils collected all over

Turkey. The cities in this region and the amount of waste motor oil collected from these cities in

2011 is displayed in Table 7.1.2.


Table 7.1.2- The amounts of Waste Motor Oil Collected in 2011 from the cities that will provide feedstock

These cities have been selected due to the various means of transportation and the reasonable logistic

transportation distance to Istanbul and neighboring cities as well as the potential amounts of waste oil

that will be generated in each city in the future. In relatively distant locations, temporary storage

facilities can be built in order to minimize waste oil transportation costs or the wastes in these areas

can be recovered as energy.

7.1.3 Determining the Feedstock Processing Capacity of the Plant

It is observed that 66% of the waste oil collected by PETDER across the country is generated in

Istanbul and the neighboring cities examined within the framework of the project. Based on the

assumption that 200-250 thousand tons of waste oil was generated upon consuming 411 thousand

tons of mineral oil in 2011, the potential amount of waste oil feedstock for a refinery plant that will

be built in this region is calculated as 130-160 thousand tons.

In this respect, it is clear that the annual waste mineral oil processing capacity of a re refining plant

that will be built either in Istanbul or the neighboring cities within the framework of the project must

be over 50 thousand tons.

Amount

(ton)

8.467

1 İstanbul 4.691

2 Bursa 904

3 Kocaeli (İzmit) 919

4 Tekirdağ 623

5 Çanakkale 459

6 Balıkesir 259

7 Sakarya (Adapazarı) 242

Source Region

Marmara


After this step, it is necessary to take into consideration several factors that will enable a more

realistic approach to the subject. First of all, for such an investment, Turkey has to think broadly,

beyond national borders due to its logistic location and its relations with regional markets. There are

not many investments in re refining industry in the neighboring countries. the ones that exit are either

low capacity investments or operate with poor technology. In Turkey, re refining of waste mineral

oils by means of advanced industrial processes is open for improvement with the help of correct

government policies. Also, the financial means that the re refining technology provides in the

competitive environment of the International and National mineral oil market cannot be ignored.

As a result, when the findings presented in this chapter are analyzed, it can be observed that the

current waste oil potential in Turkey and the opportunity to improve this potential due to its logistic

location justify the need for a medium scaled re refining plant in Turkey. The life span of such a

plant will be at least 30 years. Moreover, even if decided today, designing the plant construction

works will take 2-2.5 years before the plant starts to operate. Because of these reasons, when the

economy of scale is taken into account alongside with long term factors, it is possible to state as a

strategic projection that the plant should have an annual waste oil processing capacity of 80 million

tons. The activities carried out in line with this projection will be explained in the following parts of

this study.

7.2 CHOOSING THE MOST APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TO BE USED IN THE

PLANT

Today, the processes that use acid-clay method are not preferred anymore because of its incapability

to produce high quality products and its detrimental environmental impacts. Other processes

involving catalytic hydro processing or solvent extraction are technologies that have proven their

validity and are widely employed worldwide.

While making a projection regarding the most appropriate technology to be employed in a waste

mineral oil re refining plant that is to be built in the region stated within the framework of the

project, the only thing that can be stated clearly is that acid-clay technology must not be employed in

the plant. Whether to choose the hydro processing or solvent extraction technology depends

completely on the investor’s strategy regarding the re refining of waste oils.

In order to clarify this subject, it is necessary to examine the main waste oil re refining facilities in

Europe and the technologies they employ (Tablo 7.2.1) As can be followed in the table, out of the 11

waste oil re refining plants, 8 of them use solvent extraction while the other 3 employ catalytic hydro


processing technology. 65% of the base oils produced by re refining waste oils is Group I and 35% is

Group II base oil. Group II oils are produced by means of hydro processing technology while Group

I oils are mostly produced by means of solvent extraction technology.

Table 7.2.1- Waste Oil Re refining Plants in Europe and the Technologies Used

Together with the comparisons of the re refining technologies in Chapter 6, the expectations of the

market also have a leading role in choosing the technology. As it was stated before, the investor’s

strategy in the base oil market will determine the technology to be selected for certain.

In order to carry out more studies within the framework of this project, the following parts of this

study are based on the selection of solvent extraction technology, on which more data is available,

for a re refining plant to be built in Istanbul or neighboring cities.

7.3 PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE PLANT

7.3.1 Selection of the Location of the Plant and Size of the Site

Within the scope of the project, the pilot areas projected and assessed for a re refining plant in

Istanbul and the neighboring cities are ; Marmara Ereğlisi (Tekirdağ), Gebze (Kocaeli) and Bandırma

(Balıkesir). This region was chosen upon considering the logistic and geographical location of the

region that will provide feedstock, incentive policies and Organized Industrial Zone facilities and by

carrying out an economic assessment. The location of the pilot areas is displayed in Figure 7.3.1.


Figure 7.3.1- Pilot Areas Selected for the Plant within the Framework of the Project

It is obvious that it is necessary to consider a number of evaluation criteria regarding the pilot areas

selected in order to determine the exact location of the plant. However, in this study, the relation of

the selected pilot areas with feedstock delivery by means of road transportation, one of the evaluation

criteria, was studied.

PETDER statistical data regarding the amount of waste motor oil collected in 2011 from the cities in

the region that will serve as feedstock source was taken as the starting point for this study. According

to 2010 data from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, 18% of the waste oil is

recorded. Based on this data, first the potential annual amount of waste oil generated in the source

region was calculated city-wise as 100% of the potential feedstock of the plant that will be built.

Then, it was projected that the transfer of waste oil to the selected pilot areas will be carried out

completely by means of road transportation and by tankers with a capacity of 20 tons. The number of

trips that will be made to each city for the transportation of the potential annual amount of waste oil

and the cost of this transportation was calculated. This calculation is based on PETDER data in

March 2012, stating the transportation cost as 3.36 TL/km for a 20-ton tanker. The management

costs and the expenses due to toll roads are not included in the unit transportation cost. The total

transportation cost and the cost per ton were calculated by multiplying this data with the number of

Marmara

Ereğlisi

Bandırma

Gebze


trips required for the transfer of potential amount of waste oil and the round trip distance between the

pilot region and the cities. The table below demonstrates the results of the study for each pilot area.

Table 7.3.1- Cost Analysis of Waste Oil Transportation to Bandırma from the cities in the source region

Table 7.3.2- Cost Analysis of Waste Oil Transportation to Gebze from the cities in the source region

Amount Collected (ton)

Potential Amount (ton)

Distance (km)

Number Of Trips

Total (km)

Transport Cost ( ¨ )

Cost ( ̈ /ton)

8.467 47.039 Bandırma 2.352 1.376.577 4.625.298 98 1 İstanbul 4.691 26.061 330 1.303 860.017 2.889.656 111 2 Bursa 904 5.022 111 251 55.747 187.309 37 3 Kocaeli (İzmit) 919 5.106 334 255 170.526 572.966 112 4 Tekirdağ 623 3.461 321 173 111.102 373.302 108 5 Çanakkale 459 2.550 166 128 42.330 142.229 56 6 Balıkesir 259 1.439 99 72 14.245 47.863 33 7 Sakarya (Adapazarı) 242 1.344 326 67 43.829 147.265 110 8 Edirne 116 644 582 32 37.507 126.022 196 9 Kırklareli 184 1.022 328 51 33.529 112.657 110 10 Bilecik 49 272 210 14 5.717 19.208 71 11 Yalova 21 117 174 6 2.030 6.821 58

1.973 10.961 548 271.573 912.485 83 12 İzmir 1.465 8.139 254 407 206.728 694.605 85 13 Manisa 223 1.239 141 62 17.468 58.694 47 14 Kütahya 144 800 226 40 18.080 60.749 76 15 Uşak 141 783 374 39 29.297 98.437 126

741 4.117 206 182.188 612.151 149 16 Zonguldak 514 2.856 461 143 131.641 442.314 155 17 Bolu 100 556 391 28 21.722 72.987 131 18 Düzce 89 494 346 25 17.108 57.482 116 19 Bartın 25 139 568 7 7.889 26.507 191 20 Karabük 13 72 530 4 3.828 12.861 178

2.370 13.167 658 654.852 2.200.303 167 21 Ankara 2.086 11.589 523 579 606.099 2.036.492 176 22 Eskişehir 284 1.578 309 79 48.753 163.811 104

13.551 75.283 7.104 3.764 2.485.189 8.350.237 111 TOTAL:

Source Region

Kuzey Ege

Marmara

Batı Karadeniz

Kuzey Batı İç Anadolu

Amount Collected (ton)

Potential Amount

Distance (km)

Number Of Trips

Total (km)


Cost ( ̈ /ton)

8.467 47.039 Gebze 2.352 508.781 1.709.505 36 1 İstanbul 4.691 26.061 40 1.303 104.244 350.261 13 2 Bursa 904 5.022 189 251 94.920 318.931 64 3 Kocaeli (İzmit) 919 5.106 51 255 26.038 87.489 17 4 Tekirdağ 623 3.461 167 173 57.801 194.210 56 5 Çanakkale 459 2.550 452 128 115.260 387.274 152 6 Balıkesir 259 1.439 292 72 42.016 141.172 98 7 Sakarya (Adapazarı) 242 1.344 107 67 14.386 48.335 36 8 Edirne 116 644 300 32 19.333 64.960 101 9 Kırklareli 184 1.022 274 51 28.009 94.110 92 10 Bilecik 49 272 197 14 5.363 18.019 66 11 Yalova 21 117 121 6 1.412 4.743 41

1.973 10.961 548 515.873 1.733.333 158 12 İzmir 1.465 8.139 488 407 397.178 1.334.517 164 13 Manisa 223 1.239 474 62 58.723 197.310 159 14 Kütahya 144 800 310 40 24.800 83.328 104 15 Uşak 141 783 449 39 35.172 118.177 151

741 4.117 206 109.267 367.138 89 16 Zonguldak 514 2.856 284 143 81.098 272.489 95 17 Bolu 100 556 213 28 11.833 39.760 72 18 Düzce 89 494 169 25 8.356 28.077 57 19 Bartın 25 139 391 7 5.431 18.247 131 20 Karabük 13 72 353 4 2.549 8.566 119


13.551 75.283 6.027 3.764 1.671.786 5.617.199 75 TOTAL:

Source Region

Kuzey Ege

Marmara

Batı Karadeniz



Table 7.3.3- Cost Analysis of Waste Oil Transportation to M.Ereğlisi from the cities in the source region

As can be seen from the tables, according to the cost analysis of the transportation of waste oils from

the cities in the source region to the plant in the pilot area, the mentioned costs for a plant that will be

located in Gebze region (75 TL/ton) will be lower compared to the costs in Bandırma region

(111TL/ton) ve Marmara Ereğlisi region (106 TL/ton). These costs mentioned are the costs for

transportation only and do not include the waste oil supply, sampling and logistics management

costs.

This study is not the only criteria for choosing the location of the plant. It should be regarded merely

as a preliminary assessment to draw the attention of the interested parties within the scope of the

project. There are many other issues, such as the logistic facilities of the area the plant is located,

temporary storage facilities between the source region and the plant, the advantages of building the

plant in an organized industrial zone and land costs, that should be considered for the final decision.

As a result, it is observed that Gebze region stands out among the pilot areas selected, after a

comparison of the waste oil transfer costs from the cities in the source region for a capacity of 80

thousand tons. When the data used in this study regarding capacity and the solvent extraction

technology are analyzed, it is calculated the need for land for the plant, one of the physical

requirements of determining the location, is 26.500m2 .

Amount

Collected

Potential Amount (ton)

Distance (km)

Number Of Trips

Total (km)


Cost ( ̈ /ton)

8.467 47.039 M. Ereğlisi 2.352 784.439 2.635.715 56 1 İstanbul 4.691 26.061 99 1.303 258.005 866.897 33 2 Bursa 904 5.022 349 251 175.276 588.926 117 3 Kocaeli (İzmit) 919 5.106 167 255 85.263 286.483 56 4 Tekirdağ 623 3.461 38 173 13.152 44.191 13 5 Çanakkale 459 2.550 452 128 115.260 387.274 152 6 Balıkesir 259 1.439 450 72 64.750 217.560 151 7 Sakarya (Adapazarı) 242 1.344 262 67 35.224 118.354 88 8 Edirne 116 644 164 32 10.569 35.511 55 9 Kırklareli 184 1.022 138 51 14.107 47.398 46 10 Bilecik 49 272 351 14 9.555 32.105 118 11 Yalova 21 117 281 6 3.278 11.015 94

1.973 10.961 548 681.628 2.290.271 209 12 İzmir 1.465 8.139 648 407 527.400 1.772.064 218 13 Manisa 223 1.239 564 62 69.873 234.774 190 14 Kütahya 144 800 464 40 37.120 124.723 156 15 Uşak 141 783 603 39 47.235 158.710 203

741 4.117 206 173.019 581.343 141 16 Zonguldak 514 2.856 439 143 125.359 421.206 148 17 Bolu 100 556 368 28 20.444 68.693 124 18 Düzce 89 494 323 25 15.971 53.661 109

19 Bartın 25 139 546 7 7.583 25.480 183 20 Karabük 13 72 507 4 3.662 12.303 170


13.551 75.283 8.225 3.764 2.379.402 7.994.790 106 TOTAL:

Source Region

Kuzey Ege

Marmara

Batı Karadeniz



7.3.2 Preliminary Financial Studies

This part of the study includes the preliminary financial studies that will contribute to the feasibility

studies of the plant that is planned to be built in Istanbul and the neighboring cities for the re refining

of waste mineral oils. First of all, it is important to remind some points that this study is based on. It

should be noted that the feasibility study of the plant is based on a capacity of 80 thousand tons and

Avista Oil Solvent Extraction Process that provides the most data among solvent refining

technologies. Also, Green Oil Company that uses Hydroprocessing method has provided PETDER

with preliminary studies that serve as a model in this area to be used within the scope of this project.

However, it was not possible to analyze this data in this report as it could be obtained at the

completion stage of the report. The unit costs used in the feasibility study of the process that was

taken as a model operating in full capacity with an annual capacity of 80 thousand tons are based on

the average prices in 2012. The calculations and projections in this regard were handled one by one

and the results were displayed in a income – expense statement to provide a general assessment

regarding the feasibility of the plant.

Capacity: 80.000 ton / year

Table 7.3.4- Estimated Operational Data of the Plant

It was projected that the annual waste oil need for the plant will be provided by different suppliers. In

this respect, the refinery delivery prices of the waste oil are varied depending on the waste oil supply

source. It was projected that the authorized institution will transfer the waste oil by only charging the

management and operational costs without profit. The annual waste oil cost of the plant is calculated

below assuming that waste oil will be supplied in mentioned amounts and unit prices. This cost sheet

is based on calculations assuming that the waste oil is received to the refinery at an average price of

350 TL/ton.

Working Time 8.000 hours

Natural Gas 0,74 ¨ /m 3

Electricity 0,23 ¨ /kWh

Waste Water Cost 0,92 ¨ /m 3

Utility Water 0,23 ¨ /m 3


Table 7.3.5- Estimated Waste Oil Supply Costs

Based on the product yield projected in the model process, the percentages and amounts of yield to

be produced in full capacity processing 80 thousand tons of waste oil annually are displayed in

Table 7.3.6.

Table 7.3.6- Annual Amount of Products Based on Estimated Process Outcome

It was projected that it will be possible for the re refined products to attain a place in the competitive

market by applying a 10-15% discount over the market sale prices of the products with economic

value produced in the model process that this study is based on. In accordance with this evaluation,

the end product sale prices (refinery sale prices without SCT) that constitute the basis for the income

–expense statement are as follows:

Table 7.3.7- Estimated Sale Prices of the Products

Unit Price

( ̈ /ton)

Amount Collected

(ton)

Waste Oil Cost

( ̈ )

Authorized

Institution 220 30.000 6.600.000

Waste Oil Collection

Unit of the Plant 390 30.000 11.700.000

3rd Party Waste

Collectors 460 20.000 9.200.000

Total: 80.000 27.500.000

Products Yield (%) Amount (ton)

Volatile Compounds

1 800

Fuels for Heating and Marine

14 11.200

Bottoms Product - Asphalt

15 12.000

Fuel Oil (No.6) 5 4.000

Base Oil

56 44.800

Water 5 4.000

Loss 4 3.200

Total: 100 80.000

Products Market Price ( ¨ /ton) Discounted Sale price ( ̈ /ton)

Volatile Compounds 460 400

Fuels for Heating and Marine 1.495 1.300

Bottoms Product - Asphalt - 977 830

Fuel Oil (No.6) 920 790

Base Oil ( SN 150 ) 2.070 1.800

Waste Oil Surplus 150 130


Another criteria that needs to be considered regarding costs of a plant with an annual capacity of 80

thousand tons is the investment costs for the on-process and off-process units of the model

technology, the cost of the land that the plant will be located and the know-how costs. Although the

cost of the land varies depending on the area selected, within the framework of this preliminary

study, the average unit value was taken as 600TL/m2

for an area of 26.500 m2 in Gebze/Dilovası

region.

Table 7.3.8- Estimated Investment Costs

The number of personnel at the plant required to run the model process in this project is estimated as

30. The organizational chart of the plant is given in Figure 7.3.2. The number of shifts in the

operation and production departments is 5 and it was assumed that one foreman will supervise each

shift.

Plant Cost ( Capacity : 80 . 000 ton / year) ( ̈ TL

On Process Units 62.700.000

Off Process Units 15.700.000

Total 78.400.000

Land (26.500 m 2 )

Total Land Cost (600 TL¨ /m 2 ) 15.900.000


Figure 7.3.2- The Organizational Chart of the Plant for the Model Process

In order to make an income-expense estimation of the plant within the financial study, some

approximations were made. Firstly, the income from the product sales was calculated assuming that

the plant will operate in full capacity. The calculation of the maintenance and repair costs is based on

1% of the cost of the plant and the cost for insurance and other legal dues was calculated as 0.75% .

Other costs include SCT, legal costs arising from the Occupational Health and Safety legislation,

legal representation, marketing and corporate audit costs. Finally, assessments were made based on

available data and an income – expense statement was prepared based on estimated costs and sale

prices. (Table 7.3.9).

INCOME –EXPENSE STATEMENT - SUM ( ̈ )

Sales Volatile Compounds 320.000 Fuels for Heating and Marine 14.560.000 Bottoms Product / Asphalt / 9.960.000 Fuel Oil (No. 6) 3.160.000 Base Oil ( SN 150 ) 80.640.000 Waste Oil Surplus 416.000

109.056.000 OPERATIONAL INCOME (%100 Capacity) 109.056.000

Physical Expenses Waste Oil -27.500.000 Operational Costs -3.200.000 Procurement and Additional Expenses -428.000 Waste Water Cost -5.000 Waste Disposal Costs -150.000

-31.283.000 GROSS PROFIT 77.773.000

Personnel Expenses Operational and Administrative Staff -379.000 Shift Staff -401.000 Maintenance Team -67.000 Transportation Team -470.880

-1.317.880

Other Expenses Maintenance Expenses / ( % 1 Plant Cost) -784.000 Insurance and Dues ( % 0 . 75 Plant Cost)

-588.000

Laborator y Expenses -60.000 -1.432.000

PROFIT BEFORE TAX AND AMORTIZATION 75.023.120

Amortization Tankers -216.000 Equipments in the plant -6.270.000 Equipments out of the plant -1.047.000

-7.533.000

GROSS PROFIT BEFORE TAX 67.490.120


Table 7.3.9- Income – Expense Account of the Sample Process

The estimated income – expense statement above projects that the pre-tax gross income of an

investment of 94,5 million TL including the land cost will be 67,5 million TL assuming that the plant

will operate in full capacity. This analysis in this preliminary study does not include the technology

transfer and know-how costs. As is stated in many parts of the report, solvent extraction method was

taken as a model for base oil production in this financial study. Yet, this technology is not developed

/ established in Turkey. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate a cost for the improvement or

purchasing of this technology before the investments.

In this part of the report, it is deemed beneficial to refer to some information obtained from Green

Oil Company that operates with hydro processing method in Greece. The investment cost of this

plant that has an annual capacity of 30 thousand tons is estimated as 27 million € and the annual pre-

tax net profit of such a refinery is estimated to be around 10-11 million €. Although it was not

possible to carry out a detailed analysis in this report as the information regarding the mentioned

company was provided at the completion stage of the report, the information and evaluations

provided by the mentioned company are presented in the Annex of this report.


8 GENERAL ASSESSMENT

Though, within the framework of EU directives and the national regulations, it is considered a

liability to adequately dispose the waste oils that have completed their life span, there are difficulties

regarding the implementation of the current legislation (due to widespread illicit activities in the field

in Turkey) hindering the achievement of expected results. Therefore, the detrimental impacts of the

contaminants in the waste mineral oils on the ecosystem cannot be controlled. The most common

practice in recovery and/or disposal of waste oils in Turkey is the recycling of the waste oils without

advanced refining techniques and recovery of the waste oils as energy by means of combustion as

additional fuel in licensed facilities with an incineration capacity which is s process that enables the

removal of the contaminants in the waste oil. Moreover, unrecorded activities such as reuse of waste

mineral oils as illicit fuel under the name of Number 10 lube, blending with fuel, combustion for

heating purposes in uncontrolled environments, offering to the market as unqualified oil or

inappropriate disposal are also common in the field. All these activities continue to have harmful

effects on the environment and human health more and more.

Although recovery of the waste mineral oils as energy is a preferred method of disposal in Turkey,

processing waste oils by means of appropriate refining technologies in order to regenerate base oil is

an area that is deemed necessary to improve. On the other hand, the “Total Environmental Impacts”

of the processes of energy recovery or base oil regeneration from the waste oils by means of re

refining should be thoroughly analyzed and the benefit / loss analysis for Turkey should be carried

out in order to build waste management strategies accordingly.

When the studies on the subject are analyzed in detail, it is revealed that there are certain cases and

practices in which disposal of waste oils by means of energy recovery proves to be beneficial in

terms of total environmental impacts. Although the regeneration of base oil from the waste oils by

means of advanced re refining technologies is meaningful in terms of feedstock resources, it should

be noted that energy recovery also has several advantages such as high efficiency, low emissions and

low investments.

It is considered beneficial to design projects in accordance with this strategy in Marmara Region

where most of the waste mineral oil in Turkey is generated.

This study, prepared to lead the field, presents a comparative evaluation of the legislation and

technological developments regarding the re refining of the waste mineral oils and the practices in


Turkey. It is observed that Turkey is in actual need of advanced industrial refining technologies in

order to regenerate base oil from the waste oils. For the purpose of fulfilling this need, a preliminary

feasibility study of a re refining plant that will process the waste mineral oils collected from Istanbul

and neighboring cities has been conducted and the results of the study have revealed that the

investment value of a plant with an annual capacity of 80 thousand tons is substantial and feasible as

well as strategically beneficial.

In the studies on the feasibility of the plant, estimations were based on the actual waste oil collection

costs. The relevant data was compiled by the experienced project team members and the plant costs

and other results are believed to be realistic. The financial analyses carried out present the plant as a

profitable investment under projected circumstances. The evaluations in this study do not include

technology transfer (know-how) costs. Although this cost cannot be estimated exactly, it is of utmost

importance that the investor take this issue into consideration. It should never be ignored that the

investments made without ensuring the technology transfer might always pose a risk in terms of the

operational costs.

The estimated capacity of the plant is a capacity value that will enable the waste oil recovery not

only for Istanbul and neighboring cities but also for all the Northwestern Anatolian regions as long as

it is supported with an efficient collection strategy. Operating this capacity value efficiently is in

direct relation to the government policies pertaining to waste oil management. The plant is of great

importance for the recovery of the waste oils as feedstock in Turkey. Any practice that will provide

added value to a petroleum dependent economy should be supported. Contributing to the economy

by processing 80 thousand tons of waste oil annually and reducing the detrimental environmental

impacts in line with this capacity are on one pan of the scale while on the other pan are the

inadequacy of the current legal regulations and lack of practice. This scale is going to determine the

fate of an investment whose feasibility and economic efficiency have been confirmed.

BRIEF CONCLUSION:

Illegal collection of the waste mineral oils and their consumption as illicit fuel /

unqualified mineral oil in Turkey is the primary obstacle for the potential investments in

this field.

Recovery of waste oils as energy or re refining as feedstock is an area that should be

“scientifically assessed” in terms of total environmental impacts.


A capacity of 80.000 ton/year for a re refining plant that will be built in the Marmara

Region seems to be a reasonable projection. The two choices for the technology that will

be used in the plant are solvent extraction and hydro processing. The benefit – loss

analysis of each technology should be carried out carefully. However, the preliminary

feasibility reports of the mentioned facilities provide attractive results in terms of the

potential investment return.


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Kline & Company, Global Used Oil 2009: Market Analysis and Opportunities Summary of

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Documents

Selection of the Most Appropriate Technology for Waste