ILMA Compoundings - May 2021 - 25

T

here are significant benefits to
finding new uses for used oil.
According to the December
2020 U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE) report, Used Oil Management
and Beneficial Reuse Options - the
first comprehensive government
assessment in more than a decade -
recycling and re-refining extend the
life of crude oil resources and reduce
the likelihood that used oil will enter
the environment and contaminate soil
and water due to improper disposal.
In addition, it requires less energy to
recycle used oil than to create new
lubricating oil from virgin crude.
" Further, " the report said, " used oil
recycling supports thousands of direct
and indirect jobs, generates tax revenue
and helps provide consumers with a
range of economical product choices. "
Because of these and other factors,
the used oil segment is growing. But
there continue to be untapped potential, unique challenges and persisting
misconceptions regarding recycled and
re-refined oils.

THE STATE OF THE MARKET

Any discussion of the used oil market
must begin with a disclaimer: The
industry does not lend itself well to
accurate statistics. A variety of used
oils are being collected by a large and
diverse number of companies, both
big and small, many of which are
privately owned. As the DOE report
noted, " Accurate analysis of the used
oil marketplace in the United States
is currently hindered by a lack of
detailed data regarding the volumes of
oil lost in use, the volumes collected
and remaining uncollected, volumes
that are improperly disposed of,
volumes burned legally and volumes
processed and reused but ultimately
not re-refined. "
With that caveat in mind, the total
demand for lubricants in the U.S.
is reported to be about 2.5 billion
gallons a year. Of that amount, 1.26

" We work with the DOE - and we always are
working with our members - to make sure
the public is aware that you can't dump this
stuff down the drain or throw it in the trash. "
Scott Parker, executive director, NORA
billion gallons are industrial oils,
while 1.21 billion gallons come from
automotive fluids. The remainder is
greases. Notably, a large amount of the
total oil - just over 1 billion gallons
- is actually consumed in use, particularly by industry. That leaves about
1.4 billion gallons to be collected
as used oil. Of that amount, U.S.
collectors recovered an estimated 949
million gallons, leaving 300 million to
400 million gallons unaccounted for.
While 300 million gallons is a small
fraction of the overall lubricants total,
it nevertheless represents a significant
amount of oils going unaccounted
for. " Globally, far too much used oil
is wasted through improper disposal
or burning, " said Ian Moncrieff, vice
president of Kline Group, which
contributed to the DOE report.
" Collection efficiency needs to be
improved. "
In addition, he believes that, as
extended producer responsibility, or
EPR, schemes gain greater support
worldwide, more governments will
apply incentives and/or penalties to
encourage improved collection and
greater emphasis on recycling used
oils. " The very fact that some of the
lubricants industry's leading marketers
are now actively evaluating how to
participate in this space is perhaps
the best indicator that the used oil
value chain is progressively becoming
mainstream, " he said.

THE PROCESS

In general, an oil product has two
basic functions: It can be used either
as a lubricant or used as fuel, through
burning or consumption. " Whether
it's coming from industry, a quick-lube

shop or a do-it-yourselfer, a used
lubricant still retains those two same
functions, even though it will now
contain impurities, " explained Scott
Parker, executive director of recycling
association NORA. " So, it requires
processing before it can be used again. "
(Generally speaking, recycling and
re-refining can be done with any used
oil, unless it contains toxic contaminants. In addition, although bio-based
oils are sometimes touted as being
more environmentally friendly, they
are not currently re-refinable.)
" Once we receive it, different things
can happen to that oil, depending on
the type of processing it's undergoing, "
Parker said. " Basic processing means
removing the water through dehydration, filtering and maybe the addition
of a chemical treatment. "
This recycled oil often ends up
being sold to the asphalt industry.
There, it can be used as fuel in asphalt
plants, heating the aggregate before
it gets spread on the road and as a
product called vacuum tower asphalt
extender (VTAE), which is used in
road paving and roofing applications.
" There have been misconceptions in
the past about VTAE, " acknowledged
Ellie Bruce, vice president of business
management and marketing for Heritage-Crystal Clean, an environmental
services company that includes waste
recovery centers and an oil re-refinery.
" In recent years, there was the idea
that VTAE caused premature cracking
when it was used in road paving. It's
since been proven that, when used
properly, VTAE is not the problem;
it's actually a very good product. We've
learned that the problem was that

25
ILMA Compoundings - May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ILMA Compoundings - May 2021
