Category: Scheduled Waste Management

Waste lubricating oil is the most significant liquid hazardous waste in Malaysia. Instead of discarding the oil, it is good to know that it can be distilled and used again. Here are some useful tips for your waste oil management:

1. Properly storing waste lubricating oil for collection and recycling

The first step in proper oil disposal is to properly handle waste oil in the right container. The most reliable approach is to transport the oil in its original tanks. The storage container should also be tightly sealed to avoid leakage that might endanger the environment. The used oil should be properly moved into the storage container to avoid spillage. Once the storage unit has been tightly sealed, it should be clearly labeled. Examples of containers are IBC tanks and metal drums.

 2.  Do not pour it into the drain, sink, or into the river nearby.

It should be properly stored and labeled as stated above with the objective of later disposing of it correctly, sending it for recycling, or using the services of a professional.

Depending on where and how the waste oil was made, there are various legal criteria. Waste lubricating/hydraulic oils are classified as hazardous waste and can be subject to additional regulations criteria. In Malaysia, waste lubricating oils are mostly classified under scheduled waste code SW305.

3.  Waste oil should be packed properly and stored in a proper storage

Since you will be unable to dispose of the waste oil on the very day you replace it from your machine, do ensure that it is kept in a safe place so no one without the right information will be able to access it, particularly if children and pets are present. To avoid confusion, waste oil should not be stored in the same place as unused oil, particularly if it is stored in regular fuel storage.

4.  Call the experts to manage your waste oil properly

Not every waste generator has the right to dispose of their waste. If you do not have the consent of the Department of Environment Malaysia to dispose of waste oil, you can still contact a local waste oil collection company. The majority of waste oil disposal firms have the required equipment and facilities to ensure safe and effective waste oil disposal. When applying for such programs, the level of expertise and cost should be considered.

5. Only authorized transporters are reliable to transport the hazardous waste to the recovery facilities

Waste generators should always take note that unauthorized transporters shall put your company into trouble. Besides, oil filters, oily rags, and waste oil cans are often accepted by certain scheduled waste collectors.

Often, in the oil field, there are various kinds of tanks used, including those used for storage as well as processing. Petroleum manufacturers regularly clean all kinds of pipes, tanks, containers, and waste areas to remove the substance of the possibility of build-up as natural oils are being absorbed into the piping systems or consumed in the production process. In addition, many oil impurities settle and adhere to the tank’s surface. The fuel oil tanks are therefore essential to be regularly cleaned on ships (Chrysalidis & Kyzas, 2020).

Hence, understanding the procedures of tank cleaning protects your ship from unwanted damage and dangerous incidents. Before hiring for tank cleaning service, the below actions need to be taken:

1. Empty the tank to the greatest extent; strip the tank by trimming the ship forward or aft depending on the position of the suction valve.

2. When the ship enters dry dock, the keel configuration is sent to the shore facility to ensure that no keel blocks interfere with the plug in the bottom shell plating.

3. A thorough examination of the tank residues is needed to determine their chemical composition.

4. Since the tank is an enclosed space that can contain flammable materials, it must be sufficiently ventilated.

5. It is important to ensure that the steam connections are closed and that proper signage and placards are posted such that no one opens the valve and is burned or injured while cleaning.

6. The enclosed room entry checklist is completed to ensure that no protection problems are breached or overlooked.

The diminishing of fossil fuel sources, growing demand and cost of petroleum-based fuels, and environmental hazards in these few decades have motivated the increase of refining waste oil to recycled fuel oil. You would probably be wondering, is all this mineral oil including the engine oil used for your car a renewable resource? In Pentas Flora, our answer is YES. 

In fact, waste oil or used oil should not be thrown away, especially disposed of in the ocean. Hence, the used oil can be recycled again and again through several refining processes. The recycled fuel oil are used for many purposes (Maceiras et al., 2017).

These include: – Lubricants, hydraulic or transformer oil 

– Rerefine into fuel oils

– Industrial burner oil 

– Mould oil 

– Heavy duty diesel 

The process of re-refining of used oil will go through dewatering which includes removing the accessing water within the oil. The used oil will then go through further steps including filtering and demineralisation to remove any solids in the oil. Then, it will proceed to the next step which is propane deasphalting to remove the heavier bituminous fractions and lastly distillation to  produce as the final product. 

Recently, recycling and utilizing of waste oils have received significant attention all over the world, since waste lubricating and hydraulic oils are considered toxic and hazardous waste due to the presence of metal particles (Beneficial & Skills, 2016). Hence, it is very important to draw the public attention to this topic. 

Reference:

Beneficial, T. M., & Skills, T. C. (2016). The Most Beneficial Technical ChemE Skills CEP BRINGS YOU…. http://www.aiche.org/cep

Maceiras, R., Alfonsín, V., & Morales, F. J. (2017). Recycling of waste engine oil for diesel production. Waste Management, 60, 351–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.08.009