Abstract
On average, approximately 22 thousand tons of new lubrication oil were marketed annually in Serbia in the period 2015–2019. Less than 20% of the waste lubrication oil (WLO) generated was treated, whereas the remainder was mostly uncollected or improperly disposed of. The purpose of this study is to examine different WLO management scenarios that could be implemented in Serbia in the future and to quantify their potential environmental benefits. Different WLO treatment processes (namely the re-refining of used oil for base oil recovery, the use of WLO as a substitute to fossil fuels in cement kilns, and the combustion of WLO in waste incinerators with energy recovery) were evaluated using the life cycle assessment (LCA) and ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment methods. The LCA results obtained indicate that no single WLO treatment process consistently exerts diminished environmental impacts according to all the impact categories considered. From a human health perspective, the incineration of WLO in waste incinerators was found more favourable than the other treatment processes considered, whereas the combustion in cement kilns was the most favourable approach with regard to ecosystem protection. In terms of fossil fuel savings, re-refining technologies performed slightly better than the other processes considered. This can be accounted for by significant amounts of marketable co-products generated in the re-refining process, which can be used as a substitute to fossil-based primary products. Furthermore, a total of four possible WLO management scenarios were developed on the basis of the annual quantities of untreated WLO and a mix of treatment options. The results obtained indicate that up to 22,100 t CO2 equivalent and 34,300 t oil equivalent could be saved annually in Serbia provided the most favourable WLO management scenario is considered.
Highlights
IntroductionDeal with the issues related to sustainable consumption and production, natural resources, effective institutions, good governance, and rule-of-law societies
The Environmental Protection Agency of Serbia (EPAS) has access to completely different data compared to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (SORS), which deals with waste lubrication oil (WLO)
The ReCiPe 2016 method calculates the impacts within 18 different midpoint categories
Summary
Deal with the issues related to sustainable consumption and production, natural resources, effective institutions, good governance, and rule-of-law societies. In their life cycle assessment (LCA) of the used oils management in the USA in 2017, Collins et al address the issue of waste management according to the laws set by the State of California (SB546 Lowentahl) and the requirements of ISO 14044 [3]. To implement such strategies, it is necessary to adopt appropriate laws and regulations to enhance the development and implementation of waste management systems, contributing to the renewal of materials and energy. The authors of [7] evaluate the environmental and energy performance of the re-refining process for WLO using LCA software
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