PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The disposal of degraded lubricating oils poses a challenge for industry, although in recent years companies have started to use bio-lubricants and non-petroleum-based fluids with high biodegradability characteristics. In 2018, these alternatives accounted for just 3% of all lubricants, but growth forecasts are promising. They can be used in a range of industrial sectors (metal-working, textile, tanning, paper, metallurgy, engineering, mining and quarrying, agro-food, pharmaceuticals and agriculture).
However, bio-lubricants are also difficult to dispose of. If collected and processed together with mineral lubricants, the mineral-based oil recovery yield is lower due to the presence of fatty acids inside the mineral distillate. At present, no Europe-wide collection chains provide for the sorting and separate collection of bio-lubricants, and therefore regeneration processes are not as efficient and as sustainable as they could be. However, industrial regeneration processes specialised exclusively in the recycling of bio-lubricants would lead to the production of new bio-bases with improved environmental characteristics compared to both the production of virgin bio-lubricants and the regeneration of recycled mixtures of waste oils (mineral and bio-based).
OBJECTIVES
The LIFE BIO-LUBRICANT project aims to set up and demonstrate, on a semi-industrial scale, a short and efficient chain for the exclusive, energy-efficient recycling of bio-lubricants. Following the sorting of waste lubricants by waste producers, spent bio-based lubricants will be collected and submitted to an initial purification process. They will then be recycled using an innovative process based on technologies patented by the beneficiary.
Waste bio-lubricant will be recovered and regenerated (up to 70% yield) as base esters to produce new bio-lubricants, which will be successively reintroduced into the value chain. The remaining part will be delivered to external stakeholders to be further transformed into advanced biofuels (no more than 20%), while mineral oil residuals (no more than 10%) will be sent to a dedicated regeneration process external to the project.
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Create a collection chain dedicated to the exclusive recovery of waste bio-lubricants;
- Demonstrate an innovative technological solution that allows waste bio-lubricants to be recycled, enabling their reintroduction in the value chain;
- Demonstrate a recovery treatment that produces regenerated bio-lubricants, advanced biofuels and mineral oils to be sent for specific regeneration;
- Measure the environmental and circularity performance of the new products and show the improvement compared to the current baseline situation; and
- Demonstrate that the technical properties of the recycled bio-compounds are similar to those of conventional bio-lubricants.
RESULTS
Expected results:
- Collection 400 tonnes of waste bio-lubricants to be recycled;
- Production from the waste bio-lubricants of up to 255 tonnes of recycled bio-lubricants, 73 tonnes of biofuels and 36 tonnes of mineral oil.
- Reduction of the emission of around 614 tonnes of CO2 due to the production of recycled bio-lubricant instead of non-regenerated, standard bio-lubricants; and
- Reduction of the emission of around 2 500 tonnes of CO2 due to the use of regenerated bio-lubricant instead of mineral oil.
