Life Cycle Assessment of Different Waste Lubrication Oil Management Options in Serbia

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.

Impact of the circular economy on quality of life: A systematic literature review

“…As the main problem in Serbia, it is stated that a very low share of waste is recycled -e.g. PET bottles (11%) (Schmidt et al 2020) or lubrication oil (less than 20%) (Dudjak et al 2021).…”

“…They concluded that the state of the circular economy in Serbia is in an unenviable position. The circular economy in Serbia has not been implemented in practice yet, but experts from several fields are dealing with this topic (Ilić &Nikolić, 2016;Stevanovic-Crapina et al 2016;Milanović et al 2020;Denčić-Mihajlov et al 2020;Demirović Bajrami et al 2020;Schmit et al 2020;Dudjak et al 2021;Rakascan et al 2021;Kosanović et al 2021;Bucea-Manea-Țoniş et al 2021).…”

Digital Eco-Design and Life Cycle Assessment—Key Elements in a Circular Economy: A Case Study of a Conventional Desk

“…It includes all the phases of the entire existence of a product, from its manufacture to the end-of-life recovery phase, with its negative impacts (resources, emissions, discharges, and unusable waste) and positive impacts (new jobs, reuse of components, new resources). This significant capacity to consider the environmental impact of a product as a whole makes this methodology one of the most widely used in the environmental scientific literature [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. It is used to analyse the environmental impact all the way from renewable energies [38][39][40][41] to the construction industry [42,43] or food products [44].…”

Waste Lubricant Oil Management: A Review of Technical Aspects and Regulatory Compliance

“…For the sustainability of resources and improve environmental, economic, and social advantages, a strategic approach to waste lubricant oil management through utilization activities is crucial (Botas et al, 2017) (Du đak et al, 2021. The Ministry of Environment and Forestry must grant permits for any use of hazardous waste (Pemerintah Republik Indonesia, 2021).…”