ANP regulation 127/99 stipulates that 30% of lubricant oil sold must be collected and re-refined through an industrial process that transforms the used oil into basic oil, principal raw material used in the manufacture of finished oil. Brazil currently consumes around one million cubic meters (m3) of lubricant oil and generates 350,000 m3 of used oil per year.

Data on the collection of used oil in 2002 shows that 221 million liters were collected, around 22%. This used oil allowed the manufacture of 155 million liters of re-refined basic oil in 2002.

Uncollected used oil is usually burned in substitution of fuel oil or used in any number of illegal ways, or disposed of illegally into the natural environment.

As of October 2001, the collection of at least 30% of lubricant oil sold in Brazil became compulsory.

CONAMA resolution 09/93 requires that information on the recycling of lubricant oil be compulsory on labeling and at collection points.

Despite the fact that many types of formula oils contain a recycled component, currently no brand takes advantage of this environmental attribute in its advertising, unlike in other countries.

In Europe service stations pay for the product to be collected by recycling businesses. In Italy, as well as the gas station paying a part, the government contributes a percentage that is built in to the price of new oil, in the form of an environmental tax. In the US, there is a bonus incentive for storing the oil, and in Brazil approximately R$ 0.10 per liter is paid, not to the service station, but to the employee who carries out the oil change.

Lubricant oil accounts for around 2% of oil derivatives, and is one of the few that are not totally consumed during use. Automotive use accounts for 60% of the consumption in Brazil, principally in diesel engines. It is also used in industry in hydraulic systems, stationary engines, turbines and cutting tools. It is composed of basic oils (saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons) that are produced from special petroleum, with additives that give it its lubricant qualities.

During its use as an equipment lubricant, the thermal-oxidative degradation of the oil and the accumulation of contaminants necessitate its replacement. In addition, part of the oil is burned in the engine itself, and has to be replaced. During the oil-change process, the oil is drained off into a tank for later use.

Although prohibited in Brazil, indiscriminate burning (without the removal of metals) is the most common misuse of used oils collected for re-refining.

The oil can also be recycled by outsourcing and filtered for reuse by the owner, in which case, its sale is totally prohibited. It can be re-refined, as is the case of most of the used oil collected, generating basic oils for new uses.

Re-refining is the most suitable way of absorbing the used oil generated from economic activity in Brazil.

Although lubricant oil accounts for only a small percentage of garbage, it’s environmental impact is very great, representing the same potential for pollution per tonne of oil discharged into bodies of water as 40,000 residents. Just one liter of oil is capable of stifling the oxygen of one million liters of water, within a few days forming a fine layer of oil over a surface of 1,000 m2, blocking the passage of air and light and preventing breathing and photosynthesis. Used oil also contains highly toxic metals and composites, and for this reason is classified as hazardous waste (class I), according to the ABNT’s 10.004 norm. It therefore cannot be used as fuel as its burning releases potentially carcinogenic heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and nickel into the atmosphere, as well as residual and particle gases.

The Brazilian re-refining industry for mineral oils began in around 1948, when the first re-refineries were set up, two in Rio Grande do Sul and one in São Paulo. By the seventies further re-refineries had been set up, although without great economic prospects due to the low cost of oil derivatives. After the first oil shock, the sector organized itself into Sindirrefino.

Contamination

The heavy contaminants from used oil result from the wear of the engine (filing dust), additives and sludge that form due to the high working temperatures, in rust-causing conditions. The light contaminants are unburned fuel in the engine or solvents that collect in the same drum as the used oil. The removal of these contaminants by the usual method produces large quantities of acid sludge; more modern methods use special evaporators and produce residue that can be used as waterproofing, plastic and asphalt coatings. The acid sludge residue goes through a neutralizing process, with PH correction and is then sent for co-processing in the cement industry.

Reduction at source

In periods of economic recession, generation of used oil usually decreases, as consumers delay changing their oil, instead just topping up the level in the crankcase.

Composting

The material cannot be used in composting. Its decomposition is slow, with a Biochemical Demand for Oxygen (DBO) of from 2 to 4 kg of oxygen per kilo of used oil.

Incineration

The calorific power of used oil is 10,000 Kcal/kg (34,000 BTU/I), but burning must be preceded by the removal of metals in order to conform to the legal standards for atmospheric emissions. Conama’s resolution 9/93 prohibits burning and incineration, as this would mean the destruction of significant amounts of usable petroleum oil found in the used lubricant.

Landfill

Conama’s Resolution 9/93 does not authorize disposal of used oil in landfill sites. On the contrary, it stipulates that all oil should be collected for recycling. It also stipulates that recycling should be carried out through the re-refining process.