Approach to and Solution for the Problem of Used Motor Oil in Colombia

Abstract

Used motor oils are mixtures of lubricants and additives with a high content of physical and chemical impurities (metals and organic compounds), generated as a result of combustion processes, part wear, and mixing with other fluids. Current Colombian regulations on the matter facilitate the fraudulent, uncontrolled, and improper handling of this highly hazardous waste, generating the following environmental, economic, and public-order problems: concealment of hazardous waste; adulteration of lubricating oils; use in drug-trafficking activities for producing coca paste; environmental contamination of water, soil, air, and ecosystems; and severe public health effects from sulfur compound and ash emissions. Burning used oil always generates a greater quantity of air emissions, which vary depending on the chemical species analyzed. Notable among these are particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5 µ and ≤10 µ (microns), lead, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, and several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, often with far more harmful effects. Burning one gallon of used oil generates the same amount of PM ≤10 microns as burning 3.42 gallons of gasoline, and produces the same amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as burning more than 10 — and up to 40 — gallons of diesel. This type of combustion creates a major environmental problem due to the large quantity of highly polluting gas emissions produced from the following harmful components, which make it a highly hazardous waste: metal particles generated by wear on engine parts subjected to motion and friction; organometallic compounds containing lead from gasoline; organic or inorganic acids resulting from oxidation or fuel sulfur content; sulfur compounds; additive residues: phenols, zinc compounds, chlorine, and phosphorus; chlorinated compounds: solvents, PCBs, and PCTs; Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs); moreover, used oil in Colombia is often mixed with other substances, such as pesticides and hazardous waste of any kind, increasing its toxicity. Re-refining this hazardous waste is an immediate, highly profitable solution already available on the market and approved under current national and international regulations.