Characterisation And Experimental Investigation Of

Processed Waste Engine Oil For Use As Diesel

Engine Fuels
By
SUMIT RAJ
Roll No.211312012
Department Of Mechanical Engineering

Under the guidance of
Dr. R. Anand
Assistant Professor
Mechanical Department
NIT Trichy

Content
1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Literature review
4. Characterization and properties measurements
5. Experimental procedure
6. Results and discussions
7. Conclusions
8. References


1. Int roduct i on
CURRENT SENARIO IN INDIA


INDUSTRIAL
(32%)
OTHERS
(21%)
AUTOMOTIVES
(47%)
COLLECTABLE USED
LUBRICANTS (49%)

FRESH LUBRICANT
CONSUMED IN
USE (51%)
AUTOMOTIVES
(30%)
INDUSTRIAL
(19%)
OTHERS
COLLECTED USED LUBRICANTS
(28%)
UNRECORDED
(21%)
Waste Oil Generation in India, A Case Study
Number Of Registered Motor Vehicles In India 1,00,000,000
A . Total number of cars (14%) 14,000,000
Estimated oil change per car (in liters/annum) 10
Estimated used oil Generated by car ( in liters) 140,000,000
B. Total number of Buses (1 %) 1,000,000
Estimated oil change per bus (in liters/annum 50
Estimated used oil Generated by bus ( in liters) 50,000,000
C. Total numbers of goods vehicles (5 %) 5,000,000
Estimated oil change per goods vehicle (in
liters/annum)
50
Estimated oil change per goods vehicle (in liters) 250,000,000
D. Total number of two wheelers (71%) 71,000,000
Estimated oil change per two wheeler (in liters/annum) 2
Estimated oil change per two wheeler (in liters) 142,000,000
E. Others ( tractors , tailors etc.) (9 %) 9,000,000
Estimated oil change per vehicle (in liters/annum) 24
Estimated oil change per vehicle (in liters) 216,000,000
Total estimated used oil from all motor vehicles 798,000,000
Analysis of Lubricating Engine oil
5600 Kilo tones of fresh oil is available out of which 180 Kilo tones of waste
lubricating engine oil is generated each year
Lubricating Oil
Base oil
Additives
Metallic Detergents
Anti oxidants / anti wears
Friction Modifier
Pour point Depressants
Viscosity index improvers


Gets contaminated by dirt, water, wear metals, the chemical breakdown of
additives and the subsequent interaction among the resultant components


Waste material, their environmental hazard and their
conventional disposal methods

What is Pyrolysis?
is a process in which the waste material is thermally
cracked and decomposed in an inert atmosphere to produce
hydrocarbon oils, gases and char.

The process can be optimized to maximize production of any
of these constituents by altering parameters such as process
temperature and reactant residence time
2. Objectives
Determine and compare the physical and chemical properties
of waste engine oil, processed oil with diesel

Spectral analysis of waste and processed lubricating engine oil

To use the Processed Waste Engine Oil (pWEO) in a dual fuel
engine for various loads to investigate its performance
parameters and emission characteristics and compare to that of
diesel
3. Literature Review
3. Literature Review
S.No Author(s) Year Topic Observations
1 S. Shiung
Lam et al

2010 Microwave Pyrolysis, a
novel process for
recycling waste engine
oil
Microwave-induced pyrolysis of
automotive oils produces significant
amounts of valuable products.

2 A.D
Russell et
al

2011 Microwave heated
pyrolysis of waste
engine oil, Influence of
operation parameters

Temperature has a significant
influence on the overall yield and
formation of the recovered pyrolysis
gases and liquid oils.


3 Chau Van
Dinh et al
2009 Design and Fabrication
of Microwave Pyrolysis
System
Distribution of electric field
strength, dissipated power inside the
oven cavity and the best position of
reactor inside the cavity
Cont.
S.
No
Author(s) Year Topic Observations
4

Howard
A. Chase
et al
2010

Recycling of
waste engine oil

The microwave pyrolysis process showed
improved cracking reactions and better
energy recovery compared with
conventional pyrolysis processes.


5 Zubairu
Abubakar
et al
2012 A new technique
to pyrolyse
biomass in a
microwave
system: Effect of
stirrer speed
The yield and chemical composition
of bio-oil was significantly influenced by
stirrer speed .
4. Characterization and properties measurements

Property of WEO, FEO and pWEO
Properties Diesel FEO WEO pWEO Limits ASTM std
Density
(Kg/m
3
) At
27C
828.1 852 868 851.5 860-900 ASTM
1298
Kinematic
Viscosity
(Cst) at 40C
2.417 14.5 75.63 21.98 1.9 - 6.00 ASTM
D445
Cloud Point
(C)
0 - 18 12 - ASTM
D2500
Pour Point
(C)
-6 - 12 6 -15 to 10 ASTM D97
Flash Point
(C)
49 200 >215 180 >130 ASTM D93
Fire Point
(C)
55 - - - - ASTM D93
Properties cont.
Properties Diesel FEO WEO pWEO Limits ASTM std.
Calorific
Value
(MJ/kg)
42.11 - 37 39 - ASTM
D240
Copper Strip
Corrosion
(3hrs,100
C)
Class 1 a - Class 1 b Class 1 a Class 1 ASTM
D130
Sulphur
content
(wt. %)
0.0492 0.567 0.512 0.311 0.05 ASTM
D5453
Conradson
carbon
residue
(wt. %)
0.02 - 1.24 0.12 0.2 ASTM
D189
Elemental analysis
CHNS test is done to understand the composition of carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur in a particular
material in terms of percentage weight. CHNS test was carried
out for diesel, WEO and processed WEO

Wt.(%) Diesel WEO pWEO
C 85.47 84.44 84.67
H 13.71 13.47 13.58
N 0.486 0.784 0.766
S 0.0489 0.615 0.314
Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation
Degradation of additives and differentiation of oil samples after
various degree of their use can be observed and studied by
means of FTIR
This analytical instrument effectively provides a spectral
snapshot of the presence of base oil and their constituents
The classification was defined based on the degree of infrared
transmittance detected at different frequencies (or wave
number) over the infrared spectra
Various new peaks were noticed in waste engine oil, which
were either formed due to the high combustion temperature and
pressure in the engine while in use or were inherently present in
fresh lubricating oil in the form of additives.



Spectral graph of WEO and pWEO
WEO
pWEO
FT-IR of WEO
Frequency range (Cm
-1
)

Remarks
1704 Aldehydes, ketones or carboxylic acid due to oxidation
1376 Alkanes, C-H bending
1461 Assigned to polymethacrylate stretching vibration
(viscosity modifier and pour point depressant)
2921, 1460 Presence of a mixture of hydrocarbon compounds with
small chain length and C-H branching vibration
675-900 Angular deformation of C-H bond, Aromatic rings
813 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
Presence and the role of Specific Elements in Lubricants
Element Compounds Performance
Zinc di-alkyldithiophosphates,
di-thiocarbamates,
phenolates
Antioxidants, antiwear
additives, detergents
Lead Naphthalene Extreme pressure
additives, gear oil and
grease
Chromium Salts Grease additives
Element Wear Indication
Pb Bearings, thrust bearings, bearing cages
Cr Cylinder linings, Ring wear, cooling system leakage
Cu Connecting rod, wear in bushings, valve guides, thrust
washers, Piston ring
Metal content in oil using Atomic absorption spectrometry
AAS (GBC-902) with Graphite Furnace (GF-2000) in chemistry department
of NIT Trichy
This test method covers the determination of Cu, Pb, Cr and Zn using
ASTM D 4628
Analysis time is less than 2 minutes per sample
In AAS the sample solution is vaporized and the element atomized at high
temperature, the element concentration is determined by absorption of light
of a characteristic wavelength emitted by a primary source.
The solvent used for fresh and waste oil is xylene
Metals present at trace level in the oil can form low melting point
compounds that are corrosive to metal parts


Apparatus Required
Recording atomic absorption spectrophotometer and accessories
Hollow cathode lamps Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr
Xylene 1000 ml
Pipets, four 10 mL, four 50 mL
Volumetric flasks, four 100 mL and 1000 mL
Beakers (5), 100 mL
Ortho-metallic compounds
Preparation of stock solution
1g of copper must be present in 1000ml of solution to produce a copper
concentration of 1000 ppm

Mass of copper sulphate that contains 1 g of copper
249.5 g (molar mass) of
4
contains 63.5 g of Cu
1 g of copper is present in 3.931 g of
4


3.931 g /1000 ml of solvent gives 1000 ppm of cu
or, 0.196 g /50 ml of solvent has 1000 ppm of cu


Stock solution 0.05 ml 10 ml standard flask (5 ppm)
0.1 ml 10 ml standard flask (10 ppm )
0.15 ml 10 ml std flask (15 ppm )
0.20 ml 10 ml std flask (20 ppm)
Cont.
Stock solution for Pb , Cr , Zn
0.0731 g/ 50 ml of solvent (
4
)
0.1523 g/50 ml of solvent (
3
)
0.1234 g/50 ml of solvent (
4
)

For waste engine oil
Additional 50 ppm and 80 ppm solution was prepared









Table showing metal content in WEO and pWEO



Element WEO pWEO Limits
Cu 70 12 NA
Zn >80 20 NA
Pb >80 30 40
Cr 15 10 20
5. Experimental procedure

Experimental setup
Schematic diagram of the experimental
setup
Photographic view of the engine setup
Details of engine setup
The flow rate of air was measured
using an orifice plate. The orifice
plate causes a pressure drop which
varies with the flow rate
A standard burette, which is
duly calibrated, is employed
for the fuel flow
measurements.
Fig. showing Orifice Plate
Fig. showing Fuel flow
measurement set up
Apparatus for Exhaust emission measurement
AVL digas 444 five gas analyser was used to measure the
concentration of CO, CO
2
, NO, O
2
, and HC present in the exhaust
gas. The concentration of HC and NO are measured in ppm
volume, whereas those of CO, CO
2
and O
2
are expressed in terms
of percentage volume
Fig. 3.5 Photographic view of AVL digas 444 gas analyzer and AVL 437 smoke meter
Equipment used for fuel characterization







Fig.3.7.(a) Fig.3.7.(b) Fig.3.7.(c)
Fig. Photographic view of apparatus for (a) Flash & fire point (b) pour and
cloud point apparatus (c) Copper strip corrosion test
Apparatus used..

Fig. (a) Fig. (b)

Fig. 3.8 Photographic view of apparatus for a) hydrometer b) Hot water bath
6. Results and discussions
Performance characteristics
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B
S
F
C

(
K
g
/
K
w
-
h
r
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of BSFC with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0

bTDC injection timing
Performance characteristics
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B
S
E
C

(
K
J
/
K
W
-
h
r
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of BSEC with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC
injection timing
Performance characteristics
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
B
T
E

(
%
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of BTE with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC injection
pressure
Emission Characteristics
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C
O
2

(
%

V
o
l
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of CO
2
emission with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC injection
timing
Emission characteristics cont.
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
C
O

(

%

v
o
l
u
m
e
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of CO with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC
injection timing

Emission characteristics cont.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
N
O

(
p
p
m
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of NO emission with BMEP at 200 bar pressure
and 23
0
bTDC injection timing
Emission characteristics cont.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
U
B
H

(
p
p
m
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of UBH with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC injection timing

Emission characteristics cont.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
S
m
o
k
e

O
p
a
c
i
t
y

(
%
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of smoke opacity with BMEP at 200 bar pressure and 23
0
bTDC
injection timing
Combustion characteristics
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
0 1.14 2.38 3.34 4.77 5.88 6.52
P
e
a
k

P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e


(
b
a
r
)


BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Fig. Variation of Peak Cylinder Pressure with BMEP at 200 bar
pressure and 23
0
bTDC injection timing

Combustion characteristics cont.
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
- 360 - 260 - 160 - 60 40 140 240 340
H
R
R

(
J
/
d
e
g
r
e
e
)

Crank angle (degree)
diesel pWEO
200 bar pressure

23
0
bTDC injection timing

Fig. 5.11 Variation of Heat Release Rate with Crank
angle at full loading condition

Combustion characteristics cont.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
E
G
T

(
d
e
g
r
e
e
)

BMEP (bar)
diesel pWEO
Figure 1 Outline of the Research Work
5/168
Fig. 5.11 Variation of Exhaust Gas Temperature with BMEP at 200 bar pressure
and 23
0
bTDC injection timing

7. Conclusions
Physical and spectroscopic analysis
The pyrolytic distillation process use for re-refining waste
engine oil reduces the metal content namely Pb, Cu, Cr and Zn
which were present in waste engine oil due to various wear in
the engine parts and inherently in the form of additives in
lubricating oil.

The processed waste engine oil has relatively high viscosity,
density, carbon residue and sulphur content compared with
diesel, which would restrict the use of this oil in diesel engine.

pWEO presents satisfactory results in higher heating value,
water content and flash point compared with diesel


Cont.
The band at 1716 cm
-1
is characteristic as oxidation products

The band at 1461 cm
-1
is polymethylcrylate vibration, which is
used as a viscosity modifier and pour point depressants.

The Sulphur content in the pWEO is too high (0.312 wt. %) as
compared to diesel (0.0489 wt. %).

Engine study using pWEO
BSFC decreases considerably with load both the fuel. For pWEO fuel
operation BSFC obtained at rated load operation is 0.2808 kg/kWh, which is
higher than that obtained with diesel operation by about 10%.

For pWEO fuel operation BTE obtained at rated load point is 32.18 %, which
is lower than that obtained with diesel operation by 9%.

With pWEO fuel operation BSEC obtained was 11.2 MW/kg which is higher
than that obtained with diesel fuel operation by about 9%.

The CO
2
emissions increased with increasing load. Minimum value for CO
2

emissions obtained at rated load point for pWEO was 3.05 % vol which is
13.40 % more than that of diesel. The CO emission was more compared to
diesel. At rated load point CO emission was 0.05 % vol. for pWEO. With
pWEO fuel operation NO emissions obtained at rated load point was 342
ppm vol. which shows 15 % decrease compared to diesel. With pWEO fuel
operation there was not much change in UHC emissions when compared
with diesel operation
Cont.
With pWEO fuel operation peak pressure decreased from 66 bar for diesel
to 62.84 bar for processed waste engine oil, which shows a decrease by
about 6% at full load. With pWEO fuel operation there was slight decrease
in EGT when compared with diesel by about 3%.

There was a considerable reduction in HRR for operation with pWEO, it
decreased from 65 J/degree for diesel to 40 J/degree for pWEO, which is
about 40 % decrease.

The exhaust gas temperature was found to be lower for pWEO compared to
diesel at all loading conditions.
References
1. Compendium Of Recycling And Destruction Technologies For Waste Oils
United Nation Environment Programme
2. Handbook of petroleum product analysis, by J. G.Speight, Wiley-Interscience,
2002 - Science - 409 pages
3. ASTM International. Standard Test for fuel properties measurement, ASTM
Standard D1298; ASTM International: West Conshohocken, PA, USA, 2004.
4. ASTM International. Standard Test Method for Analysis of Copper,Chromium,
lead, and Zinc in used and Unused Lubricating Oils by Atomic Absorption
Spectrometry; ASTM Standard D4628; ASTM International: West
Conshohocken, PA, USA, 2004
5. Lam SS, Russell AD, Chase HA. Pyrolysis using microwave heating: a
sustainable process for recycling used car engine oil. Ind Eng Chem
Res2010;49:1084551.
6. Fernndez, Y.; Arenillas, A.; Bermdez, J.M.; Menndez, J.A. Comparative
study of conventional and microwave-assisted pyrolysis, J. Anal. Appl.
Pyrolysis 2010, 88, 155-159.
7. The Gazette of India Extraordinary Part-II-Section-3-Sub-section (ii)
Published by Authority No. 471 New Delhi, Friday, May 23, 2003, Ministry
of Environment and Forest.







Thank you