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                    | MAHARASHTRA 
                      POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD A NOTE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND TECHNOLOGIES FOR RE-REFINING/RECYCLING OF USED OIL/WASTE OIL
 |  
                    |  |  
                    | 1 | Background |  
                    |  | 
					  
                         | 
						The 
                      Hazardous Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules, as amended 
                      on May 20, 2003, have come into force from the date of their 
                      publication in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II 
                      (3) (ii) No. 471 dated May 23, 2003. As per Rule 21 of HW 
                      Rules, it is mandatory that re-refining/recycling of the used 
                      oil/waste oil is done only through application of environmentally 
                      sound technologies (EST’s). Existing industries are 
                      required to switch over within six months from the date of 
                      commencement of the HW Rules to other EST’s mentioned 
                      in the HW Rules.
						 |  
                         | As per Rule 4, it shall 
                          be the responsibility of the occupier and the operator of 
                          a facility, to take all steps to ensure that the wastes listed 
                          in schedules-1, 2 and 3 of the HW Rules, are properly handled 
                          and disposed of without any adverse effects to the environment. 
                          He will also take adequate steps while handling the hazardous 
                          wastes to - |  
                            | (i) | Contain contaminants and prevent 
                              accidents and limit their consequences on human and the 
                              environment; and |  
                            | (ii) | provide persons working on the site with 
                              information, training and equipment necessary to ensure 
                              their safety. |  |  
                    |  |  
                    | 2 | Environmentally 
                      Sound Technologies (EST’s) |  
                    |  | 
 
									
                                        | Rule 21 provides for the technology 
                      and standards for re-refining/recycling of used oil/waste oil 
                      in an environmentally sound manner. EST’s stipulated in 
                      the HW Rules are as under: 
 |  
                                        | (i) | Vacuum distillation with clay 
                                          treatment |  
                                        | (ii) | Thin-film evaporation process |  
                                        | (iii) | Vacuum distillation hydrotreating |  
                                        | (iv) | Any technology approved by the MoEF. |  The approved technologies and standards have distinctive 
                        advantages such as :  
                                      
                                        | (a) | The re-refining/recycling 
                                          is done without adding any chemicals or other substances, 
                                          which can increase the quantity or toxicity of waste generated 
                                          in the whole process. |  
                                        | (b) | The quality of products are 
                                          of accepted standards for the purposes for which they 
                                          are intended. |  
                    |  | Process flow diagrams for the above ESTs are placed 
                      at Annex I to Annex III. Comparison of ESTs (i & ii as above) 
                      in terms of yield, energy consumption, waste streams etc. is 
                      presented below: |  
 |  
                    |  | 
 
                          
						  
                            | Factors for Evaluation | Vacuum 
                              distillation with clay treatment | Thin-film 
                              evaporation process |  
                            |  Lube Yield | Fairly High | Fairly High |  
                            |  Utilities consumption | Low | Low |  
                            |  Energy consumption | Low | Low |  
                            |  Process | Continuous | Continuous |  
                            |  Hazardous chemicals | None | None |  
                            | WASTE STREAMS |  
                            |  Acid sludge | None | None |  
                            |  Spent coagulant clay | None | None |  
                            |  Spent alumina clay | 3% | 3% |  
                            |  Process water | Low | Low |  |  
                    |  |  |  
                    | 3 | Important 
                      Definitions In the Rules, unless the context 
                                      otherwise requires -
 |  
                    |  | 
 
                        
                          | (i) | “environmentally 
                            sound management of hazardous wastes” means taking 
                            all steps required to ensure that the hazardous wastes 
                            are managed in a manner which will protect health and 
                            the environment against the adverse effects which may 
                            result from such wastes; |  
                          | (ii) | "recycling 
                            of waste oil" means reclamation by way of treatment 
                            to separate solids and water from waste oils using methods 
                            such as heating, filtering, gravity settling, centrifuging, 
                            dehydration, viscosity and specific gravity adjustment; |  
                          | (iii) | "re-refining 
                            of used oil" means applying a process to the material 
                            composed of used oil so as to produce high quality base 
                            stock for further manufacture of lubricants or for other 
                            petroleum products by blending or any other process; |  
                          | (iv) | “used oil” 
                            means any oil - |  
                          |  | (a) | derived from crude 
                            oil or mixtures containing synthetic oil including used 
                            engine oil, gear oil, hydraulic oil, turbine oil, compressor 
                            oil, industrial gear oil, heat transfer oil, transformer 
                            oil, spent oil and their tank bottom sludges; and |  
                          |  | (b) | suitable for re-refining if 
                            it meets the specifications laid down in Schedule 5 (Annex 
                            IV), but does not include waste oil; |  
                          | (v) | “waste oil” 
                            means any oil - |  
                          |  | (a) | which includes spills of crude 
                            oil, emulsions, tank bottom sludge and slop oil generated 
                            from petroleum refineries, installations or ships; and |  
                          |  | (b) | is unsuitable for re-refining, 
                            but can be used as fuel in furnaces if it meets the specifications 
                            laid down in Schedule 6 (Annex V); |  
                          | (vi) | “registered 
                            re-refiner or recycler” means a re-refiner or recycler 
                            registered for reprocessing wastes with the Ministry of 
                            Environment and Forests or the Central Pollution Control 
                            Board, as the case may be, for reprocessing wastes; |  |  
                    |  |  |  
                    | 4 | Responsibility 
                      of the Waste Generator |  
                    |  | 
                        
						| Rule 20 of HW Rules, 2003, provides responsibilities 
                                          of the waste generator which inter-alia include stipulations 
                                          regarding permitted quantity for storage, time frame for disposal, 
                                          specifications of waste oil etc. Details are as under : |  
                          | (i) | No owner or occupier 
                            generating used oil or waste oil of ten tons or more per 
                            annum shall sell or auction such used oil or waste oil 
                            except to a registered re-refiner or recycler, who undertakes 
                            to re-refine or recycle the waste within the period of validity 
                            of his certificate of registration.
 |  
                          | (ii) | Any waste oil which does not 
                            meet the specifications laid down in Schedule 6 shall 
                            not be auctioned or sold but shall be disposed of in hazardous 
                            wastes incinerator installed with air pollution control 
                            devices and meeting emission standards. |  
                          | (iii) | The persons generating waste 
                            or auctioneers shall ensure that at the time of auction 
                            or sale, the period of validity of the certificate of 
                            registration of the registered re-refiner or recycler 
                            is sufficient to reprocess the quantity of used oil/waste 
                            oil being sold or auctioned to him. |  
                          | (iv) | The waste generators and auctioneers 
                            shall ensure that the wastes are not allowed to be stored 
                            for more than ninety days and shall maintain a record 
                            of auctions and sale of such wastes and make these records 
                            available to the State Pollution Control Board or Committee 
                            for inspections. |  
                          | (v) | The waste generators and auctioneers 
                            shall file annual returns of auction and sale in Form-13 
                            latest by 31st day of January of every year to the respective 
                            State Pollution Control Board or Committee. |  |  
                    |  |  |  
                    | 5 | Disposal of Wastes From Various 
                      Processes of Re-Refinning Used Oil/ Waste Oil |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | (i) | Waste Residual Oil (from vacuum 
                            distillation & thin film evaporation processes) |  |  
                          |  | 
						  
                          | 
 (a) Used oil contains largely base oil, degraded additives, carbon, water and in some 
                            cases metallic compounds in ppm. Used oil processing 
                            in vacuum distillation process is done under varying 
                            vacuum and temperature. The maximum temperature used 
                            is 350 degree centigrade and vacuum of 2 Torr. Under 
                            this condition, the water, base oil and some of the 
                            bright stock is recovered and the residue will contain 
                            the rest of the component of used oil. In this case 
                            of used oil collected in the country, the quantity of 
                            residue is 12 to 15 percent, whereas good quality used 
                            oil may give less than 10% residue.  The typical analysis of residue indicate contents such 
                                as: 
 
  Bright Stock 
  Carbon 
  Metal Compounds |  
						  | 
 
								There is good market potential for using this residue as a masticating agent in rubber industries manufacturing mats,  flaps, beadings etc. In Kerala & Tamilnadu alone the demand is to the tune of 5000 MT per year. These industries are using pine tar and other expensive substitutes, as they are unable to meet their demand. 
								
						 |  
						  | (b) The application of the residue, commercially known as “Flap Oil”, is as under:
 |  
						  | Rubber is mixed with Clay, Silicon, Carbon etc., 
                        and in order to aid this mixing, Flap Oil is added as a masticating 
                        agent. The mixing takes place at 80 to 150 degree C depending 
                        on the type of product. Since the Flap Oil is a produce distilled 
                        at around 350 degree C at Torr, the mixing temperature of 
                        150 degree will not affect the Flap Oil. The metallic compounds 
                        in the Flap Oil is permanently impregnated to the rubber and 
                        is rendered harmless. |  
						  | The residue can also be used as asphalt extender. 
                        In such application, the residue will get embedded in the 
                        tarmac. The quantity of residue produced should be large enough 
                        for contemplating such methods of disposal. |  
						  | It is to be stressed that the 
                        residue being produced in processes such as Vacuum Distillation 
                        or Thin Film Evaporation are having commercial application 
                        for disposal in a safe manner. Whereas, the hazardous wastes 
                        generated in processes such as Acid/Clay or Coagulant/Clay 
                        (Acid free) do not have commercial application due to harmful 
                        contaminants present in the residue and therefore the disposal 
                        is to be carried out by incineration. 
 
 |  |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | (i) | Spent Clay |  
                          |  | The base oil produced from 
                            waste oil is subjected to Activated Alumina Clay treatment. 
                            The purpose of this treatment is to improve the colour 
                            of base oil. In the process, the clay absorbs traces 
                            of aromatics and oxidized oil present in the base oil. 
                            This alumina clay got good bonding properties and is 
                            used in mixing with rubber in the manufacture of rubber 
                            mats. This has also got application to mix the same 
                            with the clay used for brick manufacture. In the case 
                            of Vacuum Distillation Process and thin Film Evaporation 
                            Process, the pH of the Spent Clay is 7.5 and therefore 
                            this can be safely used in the above application. This 
                            mode of disposal of residue and clay became possible 
                            due to the fact that no acid is used in the waste oil 
                            reprocessing and hence the base oil remain neutral. 
                            Whereas in the case of Acid/Clay process, the base oil 
                            is highly acidic and neutralization is done by excessive 
                            use of clay and the pH for this clay is normally below 
                            6. Hence the spent clay from Acid/Clay Process may not 
                            be suitable for mixing with brick clay. This must be 
                            incinerated @ 1200oC + 100oC with proper air pollution 
                            control equipment. |  |  
                    |  |  |  
                    | 6 | Packaging, Labelling And Transport Of Hazardous Wastes. |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | (i) | The occupier or operator of 
                            a facility shall ensure that the hazardous wastes are 
                            packaged, based on the composition in a manner suitable 
                            for handling, storage and transport and the labelling 
                            and packaging shall be easily visible and be able to withstand 
                            physical conditions and climatic factors. |  
                          | (ii) | Packaging, labelling and transport 
                            of hazardous wastes shall be in accordance with the provisions 
                            of the rules made by the Central Government under the 
                            Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and other guidelines issued from 
                            time to time. |  
                          | (iii) | All hazardous waste containers 
                            shall be provided with a general label as given in Form 
                            8 of HW Rules. |  
                          | (iv) | The occupier shall 
                            prepare six copies of the manifest in Form 9 of HW Rules 
                            comprising of colour code indicated below (all six copies 
                            to be signed by the transporter): |  
 |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | Copy 
                            number with colour code | Purpose |  
                          | Copy 1 (white) | to be forwarded by the occupier 
                            to the State Pollution Control Board or Committee |  
                          | Copy 2 (yellow) | to be retained by the occupier 
                            after taking signature on it from the transporter and 
                            rest of the four copies to be carried by the transporter |  
                          | Copy 3 (pink) | to be retained by the operator 
                            of the facility after signature |  
                          | Copy 4 (orange) | to be returned to the transporter 
                            by the operator of facility after accepting waste |  
                          | Copy 5 (green) | to be returned by the operator 
                            of the facility to State Pollution Control Board/Committee 
                            after treatment and disposal of wastes |  
                          | Copy 6 (blue) | to be returned by the operator 
                            of the facility to the occupier after treatment and disposal 
                            of wastes |  |  
                    |  | 
 
                        
                          | (v) | The occupier shall 
                            forward copy number 1 (white) to the State Pollution Control 
                            Board or Committee and in case the hazardous waste is 
                            likely to be transported through any transit State, the 
                            occupier shall prepare an additional copy each for such 
                            State and forward the same to the concerned State Pollution 
                            Control Board or Committee before he hands over the hazardous 
                            waste to the transporter. No transporter shall accept 
                            hazardous wastes from an occupier for transport unless 
                            it is accompanied by copy numbers 2 to 5 of the manifest. 
                            The transporter shall return copy number 2 (yellow) of 
                            the manifest signed with date to the occupier as token 
                            of receipt of the other four copies of the manifest and 
                            retain the remaining four copies to be carried and handed 
                            over to respective agencies as specified in sub-rule (4). |  
                          | (vi) | In case of transport of hazardous wastes to a facility for treatment, storage and disposal existing in a State other than the State where hazardous wastes are generated, the occupier shall obtain 'No Objection Certificate' from the State Pollution Control Board or Committee of the concerned State or Union territory Administration where the facility is existing. |  
                          | (vii) | The occupier shall provide 
                            the transporter with relevant information in Form 10 of 
                            HW Rules, regarding the hazardous nature of the wastes 
                            and measures to be taken in case of an emergency. |  
                          |  |  
                          |  |  |  
                    |  | Annexure IV |  
                    |  | 
					
                    
                   |  |  |  |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | Sr. No. | Parameter | Maximum Permissible Limit |  
                          | 1 | 2 | 3 |  
                          | 1 | Colour | 8 hazen units |  
                          | 2 | Water | 15% |  
                          | 3 | Density | 0.85 to 0.95 |  
                          | 4 | Kinemetic Viscosity cSt 
                            at 100°C | 1.0 to 32 |  
                          | 5 | Dilutents | 15% vol. |  
                          | 6 | Neutralisation No. | 3.5 mg KOH/g |  
                          | 7 | Saponification value | 18 mg KOH/g |  
                          | 8 | Total halogens | 4000 ppm |  
                          | 9 | Polychlorinated biphenyls 
                            (PCBs) | Below detection limit |  
                          | 10 | Lead | 100 ppm |  
                          | 11 | Arsenic | 5 ppm |  
                          | 12 | Cadmium+Chromium+ Nickle 
 | 500ppm |  
                          | 13 | Polyaromatic hydrocarbons 
                            (PAH) | 6% |  |  |  |  |  
                    |  |  |  
                    |  | Annexure V |  
                    |  | 
					
					
                   |  |  |  |  
                    |  | 
                        
                          | Sr. No. | Parameter | Limit |  
                          | 1 | 2 | 3 |  
                          | 1 | Sediment | 5% (maximum) |  
                          | 2 | Heavy Metals (cadmium+chromium+nickel+
 lead+arsenic)
 
 | 605 ppm maximum |  
                          | 3 | Polyaromatic hydrocarbons 
                            (PAH) | 6% maximum |  
                          | 4 | Total halogens | 4000 ppm maximum |  
                          | 5 | Polychlorinated biphenyls 
                            (PCBs) | Below Detection Limit |  |  |  |  |  
                    |  |  |  |  |  |  |