DESULFURIZATION AND DEMETALIZATION OF USED ENGINE OIL IN LABORATORY SCALE

This paper describes a laboratory method for treatment of used engine oil FENIX SUPERIOR SAE 15W-40 with the intention of decreasing sulfur and selected metal content at an acceptable level. FENIX SUPERIOR SAE 15W-40, produced by manufacturer Joint Stock Company FAM Krusevac, is used for lubrication of the most modern four-stroke diesel and gas engines of passenger and commercial vehicles, engine construction, mining and agricultural machinery, as well as stationary power aggregates, including highly overloaded engines working in harsh environmental conditions. Exhausted oil samples were obtained from the three sources: diesel and gas engines of passenger cars and agricultural machines-tractors were treated according to a novel two-step technology. In the first step, physical operations, such as centrifugation, filtration, and separation, were applied in order to remove mechanical impurities (sludge), condensed material and water. In the second step, chemical oxidation using three agents, i.e., hydrogen peroxide, sodium hypochlorite, and potassium persulfate, was applied to achieve the removal of the sulfur containing compounds. Based on the obtained results at a laboratory level, a technology at a semi-industrial level for the treatment of waste oil was proposed. A new ecologically friendly technology developed for treatment of waste oil offers appropriate advantages in comparison to commercially available technologies