A cost-effective approach for decontamination of used lubricant oil: enhanced recovery of base oil using different adsorbents

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
• Main Author: Parekh K.; Radadiya R.; Gaur R.; Shahabuddin S.; Ahmad I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute for Ionics 2023
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85142752343&doi=10.1007%2fs13762-022-04676-w&partnerID=40&md5=5a22e4c72d5e1bc26dabe16a4c618c7b

Lubricant oil is commonly used to reduce friction and prevent corrosion. It also protects the metallic components of the machine from wear and tear due to continuous operation. Prolonged use of lubricating oil causes oil contamination due to the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, and toxic heavy metals. The presence of hazardous and toxic contaminants in the used oil, also known as black oil, poses threat to the environment and has detrimental impacts. The present study focuses on refining black oil using different adsorbents like activated clay, silica, and conducting polymers (polyaniline) owing to their excellent adsorption property. The adsorbents in the present study have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, FE-SEM analysis, and various other techniques. Specific gravity, viscosity, total acid number, pour point, and aniline point techniques were used to determine the quality of recycled oil. The analysis indicated that the specific gravity of the used oil sample was 0.878 gm/cm3, and the virgin oil sample's specific gravity was 0.863 gm/cm3. The resemblance of the pour point of treated oil to that of virgin lubricant oil indicates the effective recovery of base oil. The aniline point analysis confirmed the presence of some aromatics in the lubricating oil. © 2022, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University.