Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

An analysis of used lubricant recycling, energy utilization and its environmental

benefit in Taiwan
Wen-Tien Tsai*
Graduate Institute of Bioresources, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, No.1, Shuehfu Rd., Neipu, Pingtung 912, Taiwan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Utilizing used lubricants as energy sources has been currently demonstrated to be one of the best
Received 5 January 2011 available waste management methods. In this regard, used lubricants for use as energy sources in Taiwan
Received in revised form thus became popular in recent years. The objective of this study was to present a comprehensive analysis
4 April 2011
of used lubricant-to-energy in Taiwan, which includes status of lubricant consumption, and used
Accepted 5 April 2011
lubricant generation and its recycling (i.e., collection & treatment) management system. It was found that
Available online 6 May 2011
a major market for utilizing used lubricants in Taiwan (over 90%) was reused as fuel oils or auxiliary fuels
in the cogeneration system. Under the regulatory authorization of the Waste Management Act and the
Keywords:
Used lubricant
Petroleum Administration Act, the central competent authorities encouraged the energy-intensive
Energy utilization industries in the waste-to-energy through the excess electricity purchase and subsidiary incentives.
Promotion measure Based on the certified volume of collected used lubricant and its energy use proportion in 2009, the total
Energy policy energy potential and the environmental benefit of mitigating CO2 emissions in place of fuel oils were
Benefit analysis preliminarily calculated to be around 9.4
102 TJ and 7.3
107 kg, respectively.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction promoting energy utilization and waste-to-energy have actively

Taiwan is an island region with high industrialization, dense
population and limited natural resources. The domestic energy
consumption reached a total of 113.1 million KLOE (kiloliters of oil
equivalent) in 2009, in contrast to 51.0 and 91.7 million KLOE in 1990
and 2000, respectively [1]. On average, the growth rate of energy
consumption is about 4.4% per year. During the period, Taiwan’s
dependence on imported energy increased from 96.0% in 1990 to
99.3% in 2009. On the other hand, the environmental issues such as
waste management, global warming and sustainable development
are consecutively arousing the concerns of the public in recent
years. With respect to the GHG (greenhouse gases) emissions, the
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita were directly propor-
tional to the energy consumption from 5.5 metric tons in 1990 to
over 12.0 metric tons in 2009. After considering international
requirements and domestic economic & social conditions, Taiwan’s
energy policies now focused on increasing energy efficiency, facili-
tating industry competitiveness, protecting environmental quality,
and enhancing energy security under the core principles of “high
efficiency”, “high value-added”, “low emission”, and “low depen-
dence. As a consequence, the energy strategies and regulations for
* Tel.: þ886 8 7703202; fax: þ886 8 7740134.
E-mail address: wttsai@mail.npust.edu.tw.
provided some environmental, energy, and economic incentives to
pursue the environmental sustainability. Currently, a total installed
capacity of about 800 MW for power generation has been achieved
through waste-to-energy, which is mainly based on the CHP
(combined heat & power) with feeding MSW (municipal solid
waste) and industrial/agricultural wastes as energy sources [2].
It is well known that the most important function of a lubricant
(sometimes referred to as lubricating oil) is the reduction of friction
and wear in the machine. Thus, there are important applications in
the cases of two bearing and moving surfaces, including internal
combustion engines, vehicle and gearboxes, compressors, turbines
or hydraulic systems. This tribological system has the significant
benefits of saving energy consumption, improving operation effi-
ciency and thus reducing noise & vibration. Concerning the
chemical compositions of lubricating oils, they typically consist of
about 90% base oils (petroleum fraction) and less than 10% chemical
additives and other components. Due to the exhaustion of chemical
additives and the contamination from metallic materials, particu-
late dirt and grits, and other asphaltic substances, the lubricant
degradation and its deterioration will come out after a service
time [3]. In this meantime, it becomes physically and chemi-
cally unsuitable for further service use and must be replaced.
These used lubricants often constitute serious pollution problems
since the illegal dumping or improper disposal may contaminate
groundwater, surface water and soils. If they are directly combusted

0360-5442/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.energy.2011.04.008
4334 W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339

as low-grade fuels without pretreatment (i.e., settling and filtra- past two decades (1990e2009).Table 1 listed the consumption
tion) for removing contaminants, the harmful metals and other amounts of total domestic energy, petroleum products, fuel oil and
toxic pollutants may be released into the atmosphere. However, lubricant in Taiwan [1]. Of that in 2009, about 97% of domestic
a proper collection system and treatment process for utilizing the energy consumption for energy use, and the remainder were
used oils would be helpful for reducing its environmental impacts consumed for non-energy use. When classified by energy form in
and further preserving valuable resources. 2009, electricity, petroleum products, coal & coal products, natural
Obviously, used lubricant has been considered as a valuable gas, and thermal & heat constituted 49.3, 41.3, 6.8, 2.2, and 0.4%,
resource and simultaneously represents a problem for the envi- respectively. Regarding the domestic consumption of petroleum
ronment. Depending on the original source of the used lubricant, the products, it grew from 29.0 million KLOE in 1990 to 49.7 million
level of contamination, the sophistication and cost of the recycling KLOE in 2009, indicating an average annual growth rate at about
technology, and the end uses for the resulting products, many 2.3%. In 2009, 87.3% of petroleum products were used as a great
available methods for recycling used lubricant have been performed diversity of products, including fuel oil and lubricant.
to reprocess, re-refine or reclaim it in the commercial market [4]. Basically, lubricants are classified into two major groups: vehicle
Although the re-refining of used lubricants to lube-based oils is (including automobile and motorcycle) lubricants and industrial
environmentally preferred to the reprocessing for waste-to-energy lubricants. From the data in Table 1, it can be seen that lubricating
application, the former technology was often found to be not oil sales in Taiwan during the period of 1990e2009 have remained
acceptable in most cases mainly due to high process costs. On the relatively steady at about 3.0
105 KLOE per year (based on
other hand, it should be minded that the direct combustion of used 9600 kcal/L for lubricant as compared to 9000 kcal/L for crude oil),
lubricants without any pretreatment is subject to environmental which was equivalent to about 2.8
105 m3 per year. Obviously, the
restrictions because these waste oils may contain toxic and lubricant market in Taiwan may be considered mature with a flat to
hazardous residues, including metal and metalloid particles, chlori- declining overall volumes. Of these volumes, vehicle lubricants
nated compounds (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated account for about 60%, and industrial lubricants take up the
dibenzodioxins, and chlorinated solvents), PAHs (polycyclic aromatic reminder [9]. These industrial lubricants include the following
hydrocarbons) and other residues [5]. This means that the incinera- types: hydraulic, quenching, cutting, metalworking, electrical, and
tion destruction of used lubricants will be accordance with the process oils [4]. The declining demand for these lubricants was
environmental regulations on emission limits of effluent gas. By mainly due to the economic growth decline, the extended life
contrast, used lubricant can be viewed as an excellent fuel after lubricants, the market expansion of biodegradable lubricant (typi-
removing water and impurities because the liquid fuel has the cally derived from vegetable oil), and the ever-increasing cost of
following advantages compared to the No. 6 fuel oil [6]: sufficient waste management. In considering the conservation for extending
fluidity (low viscosity), relatively low sulfur content (less than 1 wt%), the lubricant life cycle, synthetic lubricants are clearly effective
and high heating value (the order of 40 MJ/kg). In this regard, the because they have greater oxidation stability than mineral-based
waste-to energy has been the most important method for utilizing lubricants [11].
the used lubricants in the developed countries in comparison with As described above, the performance properties of lubricating
material recycling applications such as chemical feedstocks and other oils are gradually altered or changed after a service time in vehicles
petroleum products [4,6e8]. In Taiwan, this situation was very and machines. In such cases, the lubricant must be replaced
significant because over 90% of used lubricants were reused as fuel because of the degradation of the fresh lubricant components and
oils in the cement kilns and industrial boilers [9]. a diversity of contaminants incorporated into the working fluid.
From the viewpoints of resource recycling and energy conserva- According to the survey formulated by the EPA (Environmental
tion, the waste-to-energy is considered as one of the best available Protection Administration) in Taiwan [9], it was found that the
waste management methods for utilizing used lubricants [8,10]. As generation rates of used lubricants in vehicles and process
demonstrated by Kanokkantapong et al. [7], the waste-to-energy in
the cement kilns will create the lowest impacts in terms of GHG and
Table 1
heavy metals emissions due to the high-temperature process for Consumption amounts of total domestic energy, petroleum products, fuel oil and
allowing the complete combustion of organic components in the lubricant in Taiwana.
used lubricants. In this study, the open-access documents officially b
Year Total domestic energy Petroleum products Fuel oil Lubricant
published by the Taiwan central government were used to provide
1990 50,986.7 29,006.5 11,443.5 368.5
a systemic and analytical description about the energy utilization of 1991 54,554.7 30,444.6 12,050.1 355.5
used lubricants in recent years. The main subjects of this paper thus 1992 57,952.6 31,004.6 11,463.1 275.1
covered the following key elements: 1993 60,745.1 33,337.7 12,270.5 295.0
1994 65,021.4 35,344.0 12,301.8 344.2
1995 68,475.5 38,326.7 13,778.8 349.3
$ Analysis of lubricant consumption and used lubricant
1996 71,754.8 38,431.7 13,111.9 405.0
generation. 1997 75,357.3 38,973.2 13,879.2 425.7
$ Current status of collection and treatment systems for recy- 1998 80,291.0 40,313.4 13,816.8 365.5
cling used lubricants. 1999 84,645.1 42,819.3 14,913.9 373.1
$ Governmental regulations and policies for utilizing used 2000 91,736.5 44,088.8 14,938.0 340.7
2001 97,055.2 46,885.7 13,269.9 261.4
lubricants as fuels. 2002 100,495.0 46,847.2 12,155.5 279.2
$ Analysis of environmental benefits from the utilization of used 2003 104,371.5 48,459.2 11,497.5 235.9
lubricants as fuels. 2004 108,766.3 50,130.3 10,904.3 276.0
2005 111,143.5 50,079.2 10,503.9 308.0
2006 113,738.6 50,628.8 10,973.0 379.2
2007 119,175.8 53,084.2 10,006.6 329.6
2. Analysis of lubricant consumption and used lubricant 2008 115,701.2 50,113.0 8631.2 267.0
generation 2009 113,085.2 49,658.4 7078.2 201.9
a
Source [1]; Unit: 103 KLOE (kiloliters of oil equivalent).
With the increase in the economic development and living level, b
Including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), naphtha, motor gasoline, aviation
the energy consumption in Taiwan has grown significantly over the gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, diesel oil, fuel oil, lubricants and others.
 W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339
machines were approximately 90% and 55%, respectively. Thus, the
annual generation of used lubricants in Taiwan will be obtained
below:
2:8
105 m3
½60%
90% þ 40%
55% ¼ 2:1
105 m3
However, it should be noted that about 70% and 50% of the used
lubricants are recoverable in Western Europe and the United States,
respectively [4,12]. These figures are indicative of illustrating the
significant pollution potential.
3. Current status of collection and treatment systems for
recycling used lubricants
In Taiwan, all of the regulations relating to waste collection,
storage, clearness and treatment or recycling are currently based on
the enactment of the Waste Management Act (traditionally called
the Waste Disposal Act). It should be noted that resource recycling
was listed as one of the waste management options in the Act until
1988 because of the shortage of sanitary landfill sites and inciner-
ation facilities during the period of 1980s. Since then, the
commodity or article after consumption or use could be listed as
one of responsible recyclable resources by the central competent
authority because it could cause the concern of serious pollution to
the environment, and also possess one or more of the following
characteristics.
$ Difficult to clear or disposal of.
$ Contain a component that does not readily decompose over
a long period.
$ Contain a component that is a hazardous substance.
$ Is valuable for recycling and/or reuse.
Based on the spirit of the Act significantly revised in 1997, the
manufacturers and importers (herein referred to as the responsible
enterprises) shall be responsible for its recycling, clearness, treat-
ment and disposal by the official establishment of the “Recycling
EPA
Recycling fee
Recycling
Management Fund
Third party Trust fund
Auditing/
certification Subsidies
Responsible
recycling enterprisea
Recycling
a
Including collection, clearance and treatment enterprises
Fig. 1. Schematic function and operation of the Recycling Management Fund for used lubricants recycling in Taiwan.
4335
Management Fund”, which is originally from the pay by the
responsible enterprises according to the manufacturing volume/
importing volume and the recycling fee rates. The factors of fee rate
auditing, which are determined by the Recycling Fee Rate Review
Committee established by the central competent authority, include
material, volume, weight, impact on the environment, reuse value,
cost of recycling (i.e., collection & treatment), ratio of recycling, cost
of auditing/certification, financial status of the Fund, monetary
amounts of recycling incentives, and other relevant factors. In the
past, the fee rate of used lubricants for the responsible enterprises
was not applied because the recycling rate of used lubricants was
very small, ranging from 5 to 10%.
With respect to the recycling of used lubricants from commer-
cial and industrial sectors in Taiwan, the basic law governing and
promoting the waste recycling is also the Waste Management Act.
Therefore, the collection (including clearance) and treatment
enterprises for the recycling, storage clearance, and treatment of
the responsible recyclable resource shall be in compliance with the
criteria governing treatment methods and facilities stipulated by
the central competent authority. Under the authorization of the
Act, Taiwan’s EPA promulgated the related regulation (i.e.,
“Methods and Facilities Standards for the Recycling, Storage and
Clearance of Used Lubricants”) since 2002. Consequently, these
enterprises shall apply to be certified and officially approved in
accordance with the above Standards prior to receiving
the subsidies from the Fund. In order to manage effectively the
responsible enterprises, recycling enterprises, subsidies from the
Fund, and procedures of auditing and certification, the central
competent authority also promulgated some corresponding regu-
lations during the period. To explain the function and operation of
the Recycling Management Fund [12], a schematic flowchart pre-
sented in Fig. 1 illustrated the structure of the used lubricants
management system in Taiwan, including the lines of cash flow,
material flow and supervision. Fig. 2 further showed the generation
sources of used lubricants and their recycling technologies for
producing the valuable end products, including fuel oils and
petroleum products. Table 2 listed the current subsidy rates of used
Supervising
Manufacturers
& Importers
Retailers
Generation sources
Reward
Contract/ Used lubricants
Purchase
Cash flow
Material flow
Supervision
4336 W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339

Generation sources

Automobile/motorcycle Gas station/

Manufacturing industry
Retailer/repair workshop Consumer

Pretreatment a

Collection enterprise On-site recycling

(Auxiliary fuel)

Reprocessing enterprise Re-refining enterprise

Fuel oils De-mould agent Crude lubricants Petroleum products b

a
Decanting/sedimentation and filtration.
b
Secondary oils, or fuel oils.

Fig. 2. Schematic flowchart of used lubricants recycling (collection & treatment) in Taiwan.

lubricants in Taiwan for their collection and treatment. It can be
seen that the collection subsidy rates are based on the contents of
water and impurities in the collected used lubricants.
According to the statistical data surveyed by central competent
authority (i.e., EPA) [13], the certified volume of used lubricants in
Taiwan in recent years was shown in Fig. 3, indicating that the
collected volumes and the resulting collection rates were on the
increasing trend. The collection rate in 2009 was only about 10%,
which was significantly less than those (at least 30% actually
collected each year) in most developed countries [4,14]. Fig. 4
showed the disposition of used lubricant recycling in Taiwan [9],
including secondary fuels, fuel oils, auxiliary fuels, mould release
agent, and other management methods (e.g., flux oils for bitu-
mens). To perform the used lubricants recycling effectively, each
collection enterprise has to sign a contract with the recycling
enterprise for selling the collected used lubricants under
a negotiable price as illustrated in Fig. 1. On the other hand, an
authorized audit organization (as a third party) was commissioned
to verify all the amounts of collected used lubricants treated in the
recycling enterprise. According to the audited quantities on
a weight basis, the Recycling Management Fund Board will deter-
mine the eligibility for subsidies to the collection and recycling
enterprises. Currently, there are 16 used lubricants treatment
enterprises in Taiwan. Fig. 5 illustrated a simplified case of local re-
refining enterprise for the used lubricants. Although material
recycling for mineral-based oils has the obvious high-value benefits
based on both the economic and environmental considerations,
a major recycling for used lubricants in Taiwan was still for use as
fuel oils or auxiliary fuels because it can supplement or replace
a fraction of increasing-price fuel oils. Practically, most of used
lubricants for use as fuel in Taiwan were performed in the energy-
intensive industries such as cement, steel, and paper & pulp.

Table 2
4. Governmental regulations and policies for utilizing used
Current subsidy rates of used lubricants in Taiwan.
lubricants as fuels
Subsidy item Subsidy rateb

General area Remote/off-shore area 4.1. Waste Management Act

Collectiona
X  5% 2.200 2.640 As mentioned above, all of the regulations relating to waste
5% < X  10% 1.963 2.355 collection, storage, clearness, treatment or recycling in Taiwan are
10% < X  15% 1.764 2.117
in accordance with the Waste Management Act. According to the
15% < X  20% 1.547 1.856
20% < X  25% 1.351 1.621 newly revised Methods and Facilities Standards, important features
25% < X  30% 1.150 1.380 concerning the aspects of utilizing used lubricants as energy
30% < X  35% 0.975 1.169 sources were briefly described as follows:
35% < X  40% 0.812 0.975
40% < X  45% 0.672 0.807
45% < X  50% 0.553 0.663
1. During the non-treatment processes (i.e., collection, storage
50% < X 0 0 and clearance), used lubricants shall not blend with hazardous
Treatmentc 0.214 substances (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls), heavy metals,
a
Collection subsidy rate relies on the content (X) of water and impurities in the solvents and other non-lubricant oil products.
used lubricants. 2. With respect to the treatment methods, used lubricants shall
b
The unit of subsidy rate: NT$/liter (Note: 1 NT$ ¼ 0.033 US$). be re-refined to produce oil products, or utilized as energy use.
c
Generally, the treatment enterprises must receive the used lubricants from the 3. Regarding the use of re-refined oils from used lubricants, the
collection enterprises and further treat it without any selection. However, the
treatment enterprises shall refuse the collected used lubricant for treatment
treatment enterprises shall be compliance with the Petroleum
because it could contain over 50% of water and impurities, or spent solvents, heavy Administration Act (described thereafter) because they are
metals, hazardous substances and other non-lubricant oil products. assigned to a category of petroleum refineries.

30,000
Certified volume (metric ton)
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Year
Fig. 3. Certified volume of collected used lubricants in Taiwan during the years of
2002e2009 [13].
4. If the re-refined oils from used lubricants are used as lubricant-
based products, the quality and composition of lubricant
products produced from responsible recycling enterprises must
comply with the national standards prior to the marketing.
5. For the responsible recycling enterprises subsidized by the
Recycling Management Fund, the maximum contents of water
and impurities in the collected used lubricants shall comply
with the standards set by the Fund.
4.2. Air Pollution Control Act
The APCA (Air Pollution Control Act), which was initially passed in
May 1975, recently amended in May 2006. Under the authorization of
the APCA, there are three important standards concerning emissions
from stationary sources for used lubricants or their reprocessed oils
with reusing directly as fuel, or mixing them with MSW (municipal
solid waste) or petroleum-based oils in the MSW incinerator and
industrial utilities (i.e., boiler and kilns). According to the regulations,
the exhaust vent gas from the used lubricant-to-energy system shall
comply with particulate pollutant, SOx (sulfur oxides), NOx (nitrogen
oxides), dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), heavy metals, and other hazardous
air pollutants. Table 3 listed the emission standards of gaseous air
pollutants concerning used lubricants for use as fuels. In view of the
standards in Table 3, the emission standards of PCDD/Fs in the waste
incinerators has been set at 0.1 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 in comparison with
0.5 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 in the industrial stationary sources.
Fig. 4. Disposition of used lubricants recycling in Taiwan [9].
W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339 4337
Used lubricants
Atmospheric distillation Water, light oils
Vacuum distillation Oil gas
Thin-film evaporation Residues
2007 2008 2009
H2 Hydrotreating
Fractionation Fuel oil, naphtha
Re-refined oils
Fig. 5. Simplified case of re-refining process applied to the used lubricants in Taiwan.
4.3. Petroleum Administration Act
The PAA (Petroleum Administration Act), which was initially
passed in Oct. 2001 and recently amended in Jan. 2009, are set to
promote the sound development of the oil industry, and to safe-
guard the production and sales of oil in the commercial market.
According to the provision in the Article 38 of the Act, an enterprise
engaging in the production of oil from recycled waste must apply
for prior approval by the central competent authority (i.e., the
Ministry of Economic Affairs) for setting up the enterprise.
Under the authorization of the Act, the regenerated (or re-
refined) oils, directly used or mixed with industrial oils as fuels,
are defined to refer to petroleum-based oils recycled from the
processing treatment of domestic waste or other recyclable
resources according to the environmental protection regulations. It
should be noted that an establishment permit, which is applied by
the regenerated oil enterprise, must be obtained from the central
competent authority. On the other hand, the quality and compo-
sition of the waste-to-oil products produced from the permitted
enterprise must comply with the national standards prior to the
marketing.
5. Analysis of environmental benefits from the utilization of
used lubricants as fuels
The environmental damage caused by the mineral oil-based
lubricants is largely due to the improper disposal of used lubri-
cants. Every year, about 80e90% of the approximately 250,000
tones of used lubricants in Taiwan may be released to the atmo-
sphere, sewer system and landfill, resulting in the considerable
contamination in the receiving water bodies, ambient air, and soils
because they may be toxic, insoluble and not easy to degradation in
the ecosystems. However, this figures included uncollectable loss
while using, like spillages, leaks, drips, accident losses, and all
manner of evaporation and emission losses. Thus, the energy
utilization from collectable used lubricants has been demonstrated
as a successful process [7]. The waste-to-energy not only diversifies
fuel supply but also mitigates the environmental pollution and
4338 W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339

Table 3
Stationary emission standards of gaseous air pollutants from industrial cogeneration utilities pertaining to waste lubricants for use as auxiliary fuel in Taiwan.

Air pollutant Regulated stationary sources Emission standards Comments

PCDDs/PCDFsa Waste incineratorb 0.1 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 Design capacity: >4 ton/hr
0.5 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 Design capacity: <4 ton/hr
Electric arc furnace (steel) 0.5 ng I-TEQ/Nm3
Sintering plant (steel) 0.5 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 2004.6.16 (New facility)
1.0 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 Existing facility
Fly ash smelting facility (steel) 0.4 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 2005.10.12 (New facility)
1.0 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 Existing facility
Other sourcesc 0.5 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 2006.1.2 (New facility)
1.0 ng I-TEQ/Nm3 Existing facility
Lead and its compounds Waste incinerator 0.2 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: >4 ton/hr
0.5 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: <4 ton/hr
Other sources 10 mg/Nm3
Cadmium and its compounds Waste incinerator 0.02 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: >4 ton/hr
0.04 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: <4 ton/hr
Other sources 1 mg/Nm3
Mercury and its compounds Waste incinerator 0.05 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: >4 ton/hr
0.1 mg/Nm3 Design capacity: <4 ton/hr
SOx Waste incinerator 80 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr;
2007.1.1 (New facility)
150 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr
220 ppm Design capacity: 2e10 ton/hr
300 ppm Design capacity: <2 ton/hr
Power utilities 300 ppm (liquid fuel)
200 ppm (solid fuel)
Sintering plant (steel) 250 ppm
Lead secondary smelting 500 ppm
Other sources 300 ppm (liquid fuel)
300 ppm (solid fuel)
NOx Waste incinerator 180 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr;
2007.1.1 (New facility)
220 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr
220 ppm Design capacity: 2e10 ton/hr
250 ppm Design capacity: <2 ton/hr
Power utilities 180 ppm (liquid fuels)
250 ppm (solid fuels)
Grass manufacturing 360e800 ppm Depending on process sources
Cement manufacturing 350 ppm/450ppm Borderline: 1996.1.24
Sintering plant (steel) 170 ppm
Lead secondary smelting 250 ppm
Other sources 250 ppm (liquid fuels)
350 ppm (solid fuels)
Hydrogen chloride Waste incinerator 40 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr;
2007.1.1 (New facility)
60 ppm
Other sources 80 ppm, or 1.8 kg/h
Carbon monoxide Waste incinerator 120 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr;
2007.1.1 (New facility)
150 ppm Design capacity: >10 ton/hr
350 ppm Design capacity: <10 ton/hr
Other sources 2000 ppm
Fluorides Stationary sources 10 mg/Nm3
Chlorine Stationary sources 30 ppm
Vinyl chloride Stationary sources 10 ppm
a
The standards of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-furans (PCDD/Fs) in flue gases are presented as I-TEQ (International-Toxicity
Equivalency Quantity).
b
Including waste-to-energy facilities with feeding municipal solid waste (MSW) and general industrial waste with high combustible portion.
c
Including waste-cofired CHP (combined heat and power) plants with utilizing agricultural residues such as woods, black liquor, bagasse and rice straw.

global warming because of their high contents of petroleum-based
hydrocarbons, which are valuable energy sources. The energy
generation using used lubricants as supplemental fuels to fuel oils
is of particular interest and being practiced throughout the world.
Thus, the CHP systems which were applied to the power generation
by co-combustion of these combustible resources have been per-
formed in the industrial boilers and rotary kilns. Even though it can
significantly reduce the environmental burden, this energy utili-
zation could meet with opposition because of fears of dioxins and
emissions of toxic heavy metals from the combustion of used
lubricants.
Concerning the benefits of mitigating CO2 emissions to the
environment, it was assumed that used lubricants substitute for
fuel oils when burned in the industrial processes for energy use.
Further, a simple method (Tier 1 method) adopted by the IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was used in the
present work to estimate equivalent CO2 emissions mitigation from
the utilization of used lubricants as energy sources [15]. According
to the IPCC methodology, this method is based on the consumed
quantities of lubricant-based fuel and average DEF (default emis-
sion factor). Therefore, the anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the
combustion activity of used lubricants for energy use were calcu-
lated by multiplying levels of activity (calorific basis in TJ) with
default emission factor (DEF in kg CO2/TJ). The default value for
residual fuel oil has been estimated to be 77,400 kg CO2/TJ by the
IPCC. Using the following data [6],
 W.-T. Tsai / Energy 36 (2011) 4333e4339
- Certified volume of collected used lubricants in 2009 (seen in
Fig. 3): 29,000 metric ton.
- Percentage of hydrocarbon components in used lubricants:
90 wt%.
- Percentage of used lubricants for use as fuel oils (seen in Fig. 4):
90%.
- Heating value of used lubricants regenerated or refined: 40 MJ/
kg.
Therefore, the equivalent mitigation of CO2 (in kg) derived from
the energy utilization of used lubricants was thus estimated in
2009 as follows:
Equivalent mitigation of CO2 ðkgÞ ¼ Certified volume ðtonÞ

103 ðkg=tonÞ
0:9
0:9

40 MJ=kg
106 ðTJ=MJÞ

DEFfuel oil ðkgCO2 =TJÞ
¼ 9:4
102 TJ
77;400 kg CO2 =TJ
¼ 7:3
107 kg
6. Conclusions and prospects
With the increase in the fossil fuel costs and the concern about
the disposal problems (including soil and groundwater pollution)
of used lubricants, the waste-to-energy currently offers the best
alternative for utilizing these combustible substances because of
their high contents of hydrocarbons. Thus, the reprocessing or re-
fining of used lubricants plays a vital process for reusing them as
valuable energy source, not only for environmental pollution but
also for energy conservation. Taking into account the alternative
energy utilized and greenhouse gas (especially in CO2) emissions
avoided, the used lubricants management in Taiwan were encour-
aged to be reused as auxiliary fuels in the well-designed utilities
such as cement kilns, steel plants, and paper & pulp mill boilers.
Furthermore, using the Tier 1 method recommended by the IPCC,
the total energy potential and the environmental benefit of miti-
gating CO2 emissions in replacement of fuel oils were preliminarily
calculated to be around 9.4
102 TJ and 7.3
107 kg, respectively,
based on the certified volume of used lubricants and the proportion
of energy use in 2009.
From the viewpoints of energy conservation and environmental
benefits from the energy utilization of used lubricants, the cogen-
eration system with the installation of well-designed air pollution
control system can be considered as one of sustainable energy
sources. However, this waste-to-energy could meet with opposi-
tion because of fears of dioxins and emissions of toxic heavy metals
under the stationary emission standards. As the basic hydrocarbon
structure in the used lubricants is not significantly altered during
the industrial applications, on-site recycled lubricating oil products,
if given proper segregation and preliminary purification, should be
4339
potentially suitable for their original uses. As a consequence, the
recycling rate of used lubricants will be increased from around 10%
in the current year to 30% in the next decade under the policy
encouragement and financial subsidies by the Waste Management
Act and the Petroleum Administration Act. Furthermore, the
Renewable Energy Development Act promulgated on 8 July 2009
will further promote the utilization of renewable energy sources,
including waste-to-electricity and waste-to-fuel.
To greatly promote the resource recycling of used lubricants in
the near future, the following aspects are recommended:
$ Put high priority in technological assistances to the certified
recycling enterprises for enhancing reprocessing efficiency of
the used lubricants prior to the energy utilization by the
industrial utilities in the energy-intensive industries.
$ Encourage the utilization of used lubricants in multiple options
(e.g., being reused as a material resource in a variety of carbon
products such as carbon black.) to upgrade its resource benefits.
$ Assist the certified recycling enterprises in acquiring the key
technologies and the certification of ISO-1400 series and
OHSAS-18000 under the supports of non-profit government-
committed organizations.
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