1.

2 Statement of the Problem

Different automotive and industrial sources generate large amounts of used

lubricating oils globally, which present a serious pollution problem. Estimation of

regional and global demands for lubricants demonstrated that Western Europe

accounts for only 13% of total worldwide demand, while North America and Asia

account for 22% and 30%, respectively (Antonina et al, 2013). Due to the high

lube oil consumption various countries have designed their own systems for

management of waste oils. The re-refining industry has become an important

industry in many countries, such as USA, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. Worldwide

there are about 400 oil re-refining plants using a variety of technologies, with an

overall capacity of 1.8 million tons/year. However, technologies for re-refining

used oils are not widely available in developing countries. As a result, technology

choices, when they are made, may not be well-informed, resulting in poor or

uneconomic outcomes. A plan to establish a used oil re-refining plant in Nigeria in

1996 by The Lube Oils Limited was unsuccessful several years after the project

conception (Bamiro & Osibanjo, 2004). Part of the reasons stated for the project

failure was that its technology was based on an Italian Process design which

increased in cost from the initial projection of N500 million to close to N4.0 billion

(US $1 = N138). The Federal Ministry of Environment also invited bids for the
fabrication of a refining plant based on the acid/clay process technology (Bamiro

& Osibanjo, 2004). The use of obsolete or inappropriate technologies also results

in serious environmental issues due to toxic air emissions and discharges of

hazardous solid wastes. With the current challenges, a review of available re-

refining technologies is addressed.