Re-refined Oils Is Oils, Sol
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday July 31, 2004
Millions of litres of waste oil from the motor trade is generated each year in Australia and, thankfully, most of it is recycled.
On average, every vehicle probably has at least two oil changes a year, so that equates to roughly eight litres a car per year. Trucks and large passenger vehicles use more.Other sources of waste oil from motoring include manual and automatic gearbox oil, hydraulic fluid from brakes and steering systems and differential oil from trucks, commercial vehicles and rear-drive cars.In total, it is a sea of waste oil.The Federal Government introduced legislation in 2000 to provide economic incentives to increase appropriate recycling and use of waste oil.The Product Stewardship (Oil) Act 2000 encourages environmentally sustainable management and re-refining of waste oil and its reuse through economic recycling options.It is good news for the environment as the chances of inappropriate disposal of waste oil - dumping - seem to be reduced.The act offers incentives for companies involved in recycling according to the level of recovery. The the main emphasis is on lube-to-lube recycling - in other words, re-refining the oil for reuse in engines.There is only one re-refiner in Australia capable of producing a lube-to-lube product that satisfies the criteria laid down by the act. Southern Oil Refineries is based in Wagga Wagga and has a production capacity of 15 million litres of re-refined base oil.This is not enough to cope with the volume of oil coming through the system, so plans are in hand to expand the plant to meet demand.Local re-refined motor oil reduces dependence on "virgin" base oil from the Middle East.Other waste oil recyclers in Australia are producing reuseable oil but not achieving the high level of re-refining of Southern Oil Refineries.This situation could change in the near future as re-refining to a high level becomes more economically attractive.High-tech treatment of waste oil at Southern Oil Refineries delivers a base oil that meets or exceeds the specifications of virgin oils produced in Australia.Large car manufacturers have said using re-refined oils that meet Australian Petroleum Industry standards does not affect warranty coverage.For several years, Mercedes-Benz has been using a percentage of re-refined oil as a "factory fill" product in the production of passenger car engines.It is a ringing endorsement for the product. Lubricants from Southern Oil Refineries base oil either meet or exceed Australian Petroleum Industries standards and meet the health and safety specifications imposed by the Federal Government. Virgin oils produced here do not have to pass these tests. Bituminous residue from re-refining waste oils is also under the microscope as technology to make it into a value added product is being investigated.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald