Membrane Filtration for Re-Refining Lubricants

Integrated plant for regeneration and recovery of waste industrial and engine oils, comprising a module for removing moisture and fuel fractions, a diagnostics and monitoring module, a quality control module, and an additive application module, all connected through high-pressure hydraulic circuits and reservoirs for oil, additives, and vapors. The plant features automated recirculation circuits with sensors and centrifuges for continuous oil purification and quality monitoring.

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A method and system for purifying contaminated lubricating oil that combines membrane separation and flocculation techniques to achieve high efficiency and yield. The system includes a pre-treatment unit for removing contaminants and water, a membrane separation unit for producing a first purified oil and a concentrated oil rich in contaminants, a flocculation unit for treating the concentrated oil with an ethylene glycol-based flocculant, and a separation unit for recovering a second purified oil. The system enables effective recycling of the concentrated oil and achieves improved cleanliness and yield compared to conventional techniques.

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A process for recycling lubricating greases containing polymeric hydrocarbons or esters as thickeners, with recovery of the base oil and thickener as a component of a recycled lubricating grease. The process involves collecting used lubricating grease, dissolving the thickener in a solvent, separating the solvent from the suspension, and recovering the base oil and thickener as a recycled lubricating grease. The solvent is selected to have a boiling point between 40°C and 140°C, and the thickener is preferably based on oil-soluble amorphous polypropylenes or polymethylpentene.

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The separation of used engine oil (UEO) with an ultrafiltration (UF) membrane made of commercial copolymer of poly(acrylonitrile-co-methyl acrylate) (P(AN-co-MA)) has been investigated. The P(AN-co-MA) sample was characterized by using FTIR spectroscopy,

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Research on the separation of emulsions based on I20-A grade industrial oil and oil from the Tumutuk field using polysulfonamide (PSA) membranes has been carried out. In order to intensify the process and increase resistance to oiling, polymer filters were treated with corona discharge plasma. It was found that as a result of the modification, the separation efficiency increased to 90 %, and productivity increased up to 10 times. The results of the study allow us to recommend the use of a proven membrane ultrafiltration method for treating wastewater from emulsified oils, for example, in the composition of used cutting fluids or cleaning solutions. Corona plasma treatment improves the efficiency and productivity of water-oil emulsion separation. It was revealed that when separating an oil-water emulsion, productivity as a result of membrane modification in most cases, contrary to what was expected, decreases. This circumstance is explained by the more complex qualitative and, accordingly, dispersion composition of oil, which contributes to clogging of filter pores. Thus, to purif... Read More

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A method for on-site oil recycling that enables individual locations, such as auto repair centers, to recycle used oil. The method involves a centrifuge tank for particulate separation, followed by a series of filters including a 5-micron filter, a 1-micron filter, a 220-nanometer filter, and a 100-nanometer filter, all operating under 6 BAR pressure. The system includes an inlet control valve, an oil transfer pump, and an outlet valve to manage oil flow and pressure.

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Traditional superwettable membranes for demulsification of oil/water emulsions could not maintain their separation performance for long because of low demulsification capacity and surface fouling during practical applications. A charging membrane could repel the contaminants for a while, the charge of which would gradually be neutralized during the separation progress. Here, a superhydrophilic piezoelectric membrane (SPM) with sustained demulsification and antifouling capacity is proposed for achieving prolonged emulsion separation, which is capable of converting inherent pulse hydraulic filtration pressure into pulse voltage. A pulse voltage up to 7.6 V is generated to intercept the oil by expediting the deformation and coalescence of emulsified oil droplets, realizing the demulsification. Furthermore, it repels negatively charged oil droplets, avoiding membrane fouling. Additionally, any organic foulants adhering to the membrane undergo degradation facilitated by the generated reactive oxygen species. The separation data demonstrate a 98.85% efficiency with a flux decline ratio be... Read More

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Membrane technology (MT) has become one of the most important separation techniques. The choice of the membrane for a process largely depends on the application for which it is used. The first membrane application in industries started in 1960s. With almost 60 years of fast progression, today, membrane-based industries have given extraordinary advantages like beverage and food production, hazardous industrial effluent treatment, haemodialysis, air pollution control, energy conversion and storage and dairy purification to improve human life. Water shortage has a practical implication using the conventional methods, which are cost-effective. Some of the methods enhanced oil recovery, water flooding and steam injectionalong with the advanced separation techniques are also discussed. In addition, new technologies offer a solution to increasing the recycled water for further reuse applications in various industries. This technology increased our capabilities to recognise production methods, safeguard the environment and public health and provide modern technologies for sustainable develop... Read More

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Research and development of membrane technology for its use in the petrochemical industry are trending topics in research. Membrane technology has been proven to be the most efficient and advantageous technology to solve many problems faced by the petroleum industry during various operational processes including extraction, refining and production. Wastewater treatment, natural gas separation and purification, separation of olefin and paraffin and enhanced oil recovery are some of the major areas where membranes have been used potentially due to their advantages in terms of suitability and effectiveness. However, there are certain issues for their uses like fouling behaviour, mechanical strength, etc., which should be considered critically and can be overcome by designing novel membranes. Various research works have been going on for this purpose and to mitigate the challenges faced by the petroleum industries. In a nutshell, membrane technology can be the most reliable technology for different operations in petroleum industries.

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Oil-based wastewater generated from various petrochemical industries has adverse effects on the ecosystem as it contains many hazardous chemicals. Oil contaminants present in wastewater that enter the food chain through uptake by aquatic animals can threaten the sustainability of the ecosystem. Therefore, treating the oil-based wastewater generated during various activities at the ground level is crucial. Membrane-based technology has been considered one of the most employed techniques for the separation of oily contaminants from water to make wastewater reusable. Membrane technologies have numerous advantages, like easy handling, large-scale separation, high efficiency for the separation of oil from the water-oil emulsion, etc. However, it always suffers from some drawbacks, like the agglomeration of large oil particles over the membrane pores, pore swelling due to the action of solvents and corrosion due to high salt. In recent years, the development of advanced membrane systems for minimising fouling and increasing the solvent resistance of membrane systems has become a trending r... Read More

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Oil separation using membrane technology is a highly effective and environmentally friendly method that can provide energy savings, environmental protection, and long-term industrial expansion, competing with traditional separation techniques like extraction, adsorption, or distillation. The employment of membranes in virtually every stage of processing is possible. This chapter studied the production of oils that benefit significantly from membrane separation techniques as they are employed for separation, recovery, purification, and dehydration. Various attempts for degumming and deacidification using membrane technology have also been covered. At the same time, several additional applications for membrane separation techniques fall outside this chapter's scope.

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Traditional polymeric membranes usually suffer from serious oil fouling and quick decline of water flux when separating oil-in-water emulsions. In this work, we report the fabrication of the sodium polyacrylate (PAAS) blended polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membrane which behaves hydrophilicity, underwater low-oil-adhesive superoleophobicity and outstanding anti-oil-fouling ability even for viscous crude oil. The blend membrane was fabricated via a two-step method, including the nonsolvent-induced phase inversion of PVDF/polyacrylic acid-grafted-PVDF (PVDF/PAA-g-PVDF) blend membrane and the subsequent in-situ ionization of PAA into PAAS. The two-step method improves the affinity between the strong hydrophilic additive PAAS and the hydrophobic polymer matrix PVDF, thus endowing the blend membrane with long-term stable superwetting property for 1,100 days. The PVDF/PAAS-g-PVDF blend membrane can efficiently separate multiple emulsifier-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions with ultrahigh separation efficiency of 99.97% (the residual oil content in the filtrate is lower than ... Read More

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Biodiesel fuel is produced from triglyceride fats, and oils obtained from plant and animal sources. Typically, triglycerides are first transesterified to produce fatty acid alkyl esters (FAAE) and then refined. Traditional FAAE refining strategies are often energy-intensive, requiring large amounts of water (e.g., wet washing), adsorbents, and/or chemicals. Refining, in turn, produces substantial amounts of waste and is accompanied by the loss of biodiesel as neutral oil entrained in waste. A wide array of methods and technologies have been developed for industrial oil purification. Successful refining practices minimize waste and limit neutral oil losses. Recent studies have explored the use of adsorbents, solvent purification processes, membrane filtration, as well as novel applications of electrostatic field treatments to remove polar impurities (including free fatty acids, residues, soaps, and glycerides), and particulates from oils. This chapter will review and compare traditional current and novel strategies for refining FAAE for use as biodiesel.

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Elimination of tiny oil droplets nearly miscible with wastewater can be realized using membrane technology through ultrafiltration.

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Developing high-efficiency membrane for oil and dye removal is very urgent, because wastewater containing them can cause great damage to human and environment. In this study, a coated membrane was fabricated by applying DAC and PEI onto the commercial PVDF microfiltration membrane for supplying the demand. The coated membrane presents superhydrophlic and superoleophobic properties with a water contact angle of 0o and underwater oil contact angle exceed 150, as well as excellent low underwater oil adhesion performance. The coated membrane shows high separation efficiency exceeded 99.0% and flux 350.0 Lm2h1 when used for separating for six kinds of oil including pump oil, sunflower oil, n-hexadecane, soybean oil, diesel and kerosene in water emulsions. Additionally, the coated membrane can effectively remove anionic dyes, achieving rejection rates of 94.7%, 93.4%, 92.3%, 90.7% for the CR, MB, RB5, AR66, respectively. More importantly, the membrane was able to simultaneously remove emulsified oil and soluble anionic dyes in wastewater containing both of them. Therefore, this novel ... Read More

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One of the main challenges in the treatment of industrial wastewater is the removal of oil-in-water emulsions, which are stable and therefore difficult to treat. Bacterial cellulose (BC) has structural characteristics that make it an ideal filtration membrane. The present study investigated the effectiveness of a BC membrane filtration system for the treatment of oily industrial wastewaters. The results demonstrated that BC is highly effective at removing oily contaminants (~99%), reducing the colour and particulate matter of wastewater, as well as eliminating nearly the entire microbiological load (~99%). SEM, MEV, FTIR, XRD, and TGA demonstrated the presence of oil in the interior of the membrane after filtration, characteristic peaks of its chemical composition, and a 40% reduction in crystallinity. TGA revealed an increase from three (pre-filtration) to five (post-filtration) stages of thermal degradation, indicating the retention of the contaminant in the BC. The mechanical tests demonstrated that the membrane has tensile strength of 72.13 8.22 MPa and tolerated elongation of ... Read More

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A method for separating components in used oil using selectively permeable membranes instead of vacuum distillation. The method involves passing the used oil through a filtration unit to remove solids, then through a flash distillation column to remove water and light ends, and finally through a membrane separation unit where the oil is contacted with a selectively permeable membrane to separate lubricant-range hydrocarbons from lower boiling components and higher boiling components. The membrane separation unit operates at a feed flow rate of 0.25-3.0 gal/min per membrane leaf, a feed pressure of 200-1200 psig, and a feed temperature of 50-250°C.

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A process for re-refining used oil that separates contaminants and additives from the base oil fraction using a membrane separation process at temperatures below conventional distillation temperatures, thereby minimizing equipment fouling and degradation of used oil components. The process uses a porous or semiporous membrane to separate the base oil fraction from contaminants such as water, soot, degraded molecules, and additives, including high molecular weight polymers and small molecular weight additives. The membrane separation process produces a purified oil product, such as a base oil, with reduced levels of contaminants and additives, and a retentate fraction containing the contaminants and additives.

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Petroleum hydrocarbons in refinery wastewater are considered the main cause of pollution. Wastewater from oil refineries contains large amounts of oil and fat in the form of suspended particles, light and heavy hydrocarbons, phenol, and other dissolved organic substances, which cause environmental pollution if they are discharged into the environment without treatment. Usually, conventional methods of treating petroleum wastes have a lot of costs; due to the existence of sufficient area for the construction of solar distillation ponds and suitable sunlight, as well as a large number of sunny days near the equator, the solar distillation method can be used. Membrane bioreactors based on biological decomposition and biological transformation of oils and waste oil materials have provided new solutions for the biological treatment of these wastewater. In addition to these methods, Fentons advanced oxidation methods, electrochemical coagulation method, and membrane filtration method are mentioned in this chapter.

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Selective oil permeation is an emerging membrane-based oil-water separation process in which oil (instead of water) permeates through the membrane pores. Previous investigation of selective permeation has demonstrated process efficacy and observed that process performance deviates from traditional pore flow models for oil-disperse solutions. However, these studies have generally focused on insoluble organic concentrations above 1%, and, for many industrial wastewaters, oil concentrations may be substantially lower. This study investigates the efficacy of selective oil permeation from oil-water emulsions containing oil concentrations less than approximately 200 mg/L by evaluating the effects of both operating parameters (e.g., transmembrane pressure, influent flow rate) and solution properties (e.g., influent oil concentration, oil viscosity). Of particular significance, the study demonstrates that process performance improves over time, illustrates the important role of membrane conditioning, identifies the presence of optimal and suboptimal operating ranges, and uses the identificat... Read More

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