Some Physico-Chemical and Adsorptive Reclamation Strategies of Spent Automobile Engine Lubricating Oil
Abstract
This study aims to reclaim the base oil component of used lubricating oils for reuse. The base oil
reclamation strategies were carried out in a three-stage process namely, physical, chemical and
adsorptive processes. The physical processes adopted include sedimentation and natural settling by
gravity, magnetization, and filtration for the removal of metallic and non-metallic related particles.The
chemical process included acidification with H2SO4, alkalinization with NaOH, solvent extraction and
hydro-treatment. The adsorption process used a combination of bentonite powder and silica gel /
activated carbon adsorbent in specific proportions.Comparison of lubricating properties of all the samples
indicated that sample 6, which passed through the adsorption process in addition gave the best conditions
for the base oil reclamation process.Of all the lubricating properties investigated, only the flash point was
not significantly reclaimed in comparison with others. The infra-red spectroscopy of the samples was also
performed and indicated that peak infra-red spectroscopy values occurred at approximately equal wave
numbers of 1457.76, 2852.28 and 2921.01cm-1.
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