BCRC Bratislava

15th Training Course

Bratislava, Slovak Republic

April, 24-26, 2006

Workshop on Waste Lubricating Oil Management

DRAFT REPORT

1. Introduction

The overall objective of the Basel Convention Regional Centre (BCRC) in Bratislava is to strengthen and further develop the capabilities of countries in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region in implementing the Basel Convention and managing of hazardous wastes in an environmentally sound manner. All 17 countries served by the Centre are Parties to the Basel Convention. The Centre has a specific position, because eight countries from the group covered by BCRC activity already joined the EU, two other countries have finished accession negotiations, two countries are candidates and three potential candidates.

Since its setting up in 1995 and official starting of its activity in 1997, the BCRC in Bratislava has organized 15 training workshops for CEE countries on various technical, information and legal aspects of the Basel Convention and has carried out a number of waste management projects related to the priority areas. The 15th workshop, which addressed waste lubricating oil management, complied with the BCRC Business Plan for the Period of 2005 – 2006. It was prepared in close cooperation with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention and organised by the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX).

Waste oils mean any liquid or semi-liquid used products consisting totally or partially of mineral oils or synthetic oils, including the oily residues from tanks, oil-water mixtures and emulsions. They arise from industrial and non-industrial sources where they have been used for lubricating, heat transfer, electrical insulation and other purposes which original characteristics have been changed during use thereby rendering them unsuitable for further use for the purpose for which they were originally intended.

Lubricating oils represent a major part of waste oils, as they need replacing at intervals. Waste lubricating oils come from a machinery sector, in particular from motor cars, commercial vehicles, aircrafts and railway locomotives. Oils from these sources usually contain a variety of contaminants and additives and that is why they represent one of the most hazardous mainstream categories of environmental pollutants.It is important that all waste oils are collected in an appropriate manner and do not end up in the environment. On the other hand, waste oils are a reusable resource and when managed appropriately can be processed into fuel oils, re-refined into lubricants and used as raw materials for refining and photochemical industries.

The workshop took place from 24 to 26 April 2006 in Bratislava. This report sets out a summary of the workshop.

2. Attendance

The training course was attended by representatives from 9 CEE countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, FYR of Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro and the Slovak Republic.

{Please kindly add the other countries like Spain and organizations}

The list of participants is in Annex 1 of this report.

3. Objectives of the workshop

The main objective of the workshop was to present current situation in the management of waste lubricating oils in CEE countries and their efforts to improve it taking into account relevant Basel Convention technical guidelines and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Waste

Specific objectives of the workshop were:

  • to present results of a project in Bosnia and Herzegovina “Background analysis for development and establishment of a lubricating oil management system in BIH”
  • to present the waste oil management in Slovakia and EU (Spain)
  • to exchange information and experience among CEE countries

The workshop approach was highly preparatory and participatory. Participants were invited to fill in a questionnaire, to prepare short presentations on the situation in their home countries and to take full part in the discussions.

4. Contents of the Workshop

The15th workshop was effected pursuant to the agenda, which can be found in Annex 2. During the course of the workshop, participants heard a number of presentations on waste oil management. The third day was devoted to a plant tour of DETOX in Rimavská Sobota.

24 April 2006

Inaugural Session

The workshop was opened by Ms Dana LAPEŠOVÁ, the director of the BCRC Bratislava. She welcomed Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, the Deputy Director of the Slovak Environmental Agency, all lecturers and national representatives. In her opening remarks, she briefly presented the history and the main activities of the BCRC in Bratislava. Ms Lapešová informed also about the ongoing project on waste lubricating oil management in Bosnia and Herzegovina and preliminary project results. She stressed the fact that the workshop was organized by the Technical Assistance Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX).

Mr. László MIKLÓŠ, Minister of the Environment of the Slovak Republic greeted all the participants. Mr Miklos pointed out some problems of waste management in Slovakia. He mentioned administrative barriers of waste shipment, the Thematic Strategy on the prevention and recycling the waste in relation to the regeneration of waste oils. He briefly introduced the Slovak Recycling Fund as an instrument supporting waste recycling. He concluded his speech with wishes of fruitful workshop discussions and pleasant stay of all participants in Slovakia.

Mr. Nelson SABOGAL welcomed the participants on behalf of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention. He stressed the importance of the workshop in the way towards achieving Environmentally Sound Management of Used Oil in the region. Mr. Sabogal thanked the Government of Slovak Republic and in particular the Basel Convention Regional Centre in Bratislava for the co-organization of this Workshop and its hospitality and the countries for their participation. Then he briefly presented the Basel Convention and its goals, as well as one of the focus areas of the Strategic Plan for the Implementation of the Basel Convention and the Ministerial statement on partnerships for meeting the global waste challenge, i.e. used oils as the workshop topic. Mr. Sabogal stressed the importance of Regional Centres and the necessity of their further development reaffirmed by COP5 and COP6. The Ministerial statement on partnerships for meeting the global waste challenge agreed at COP 7 called on strengthening and promoting of the active involvement of the BCRCs and networking among Parties and BCRCs, for information exchange and information clearing house functions.

Mr. Sabogal appreciated that the Workshop responded to the needs expressed by the countries in the region for the environmentally sound management of the waste lubricating oil and wished the success of the Workshop.

The inaugural session continued with the introduction of participants and was concluded by Ms. Dana Lapešová, who presented the workshop objectives and shortly explained the agenda for the three days of the workshop.

Lectures

Basel Convention Technical Guidelines on Used Oil Re-refining or other Re-Uses of Previously Used Oil

The introductory lecture was delivered by the representative of the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC) Mr. Nelson SABOGAL. In the first part he presented the Basel Convention, its history, objectives, the Strategic Plan and Ministerial Statement. Then he explained the importance of Environmentally Sound Management (ESM) and the role and functions of BCRCs. In the second part of the lecture, Mr. Sabogal introduced details of the Technical Guidelines on Used Oil Re-refining or other Re-Uses of Previously Used Oil, including the background, definitions and description of recycling, re-use and recovery of used oils. Final part was devoted to basic criteria for the selection process of environmentally sound re-use and recycling options of used oils.

Basel Convention Technical Guidelines on Waste Oils from Petroleum Origins and Sources

In the second lecture, Mr. Nelson SABOGAL introduced another Basel Convention guideline covering waste oils, including lubricating oils and oils containing PCBs. The guideline describes options for management of waste oils, including avoidance and minimization, recycling and recovery, treatment and disposal. Special attention was focused on technical guidelines for wastes containing PCBs, PCTs, PBBs and ESM of wastes containing or contaminated with POPs.

Experiences of the Projects on Used Oils

In the third lecture, Mr SABOGAL presented some projects on used oils as success stories:

  • Pilot project on the assessment and recycling of used oils in Africa, using Nigeria as a case study. The main activities for the preparation of a National Analysis were:

a) Establishment of a task team for the inventory of used oils in Nigeria; b)

Desk study: compilation of reports and phone calls

; c) Compilation of information: questionnaires; d)

Field visits; e) Survey on the informal sector and f) Preparation of a report setting forth the methodology and results of the analysis. The major findings of the Study were: 1) Identification of the main sources of used oils in the country and
estimations of the quantities and types of used oils produced, stored and
disposed; 2) Identification of the main actors in the used oil market in the country
(mainly those in the production, distribution, storage, refining and
utilisation); 3) Identification of existing disposal and treatment facilities and their capacity and 4) Survey on the informal sector working with used oils. Another important output of this project was the Feasibility Study for the environmentally sound management of used oil in Nigeria.

  • Background Analysis for Development and Establishment of a lubrication oil management system in Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Environmentally Sound Management of Used Oils in the Caribbean Region (Trinidad and Tobago)

Used Oils Legislation and Management in the Slovak Republic

Ms. Eleonóra ŠÚPLATOVÁ from Waste Management Department of Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic presented the details of relevant provisions of waste act and implementing regulations regulating waste oil handling in Slovakia. Despite a number of amendments of the waste act (up to 28 so far), these amendments have not influenced the waste oil handling significantly. The act, inter alia, stipulates that the authorisation awarded by the Ministry of the Environment is necessary to handle waste oils. It is banned by the act to deposit or discharge waste oils and to discharge residues from waste oils processing into the soil. Ms. Šúplatová presented the national Waste Management Plan for 2006 – 2010 in general and specific targets for waste oil recovery in detail. The ambitious target for 2010 is 80% for material recovery and 20% for energy recovery of waste oil. She also presented the Recycling Fund established by the waste act as a non-state special purpose fund to pool financial means to support the collection, recovery and processing of 11 specific waste streams, including waste oils.

Recycling Fund and its Practice

This lecture was delivered by Mr. Ján LÍŠKA, the director of the Recycling Fund. He started by presenting legal background of the Recycling Fund, i.e. Act No. 223/2001 on waste and some EU directives according to which, the costs on arrangement of collection and recovery may be settled from the fees/charges that are placed on products and materials, from which wastes originate. Then he presented impressive figures about approved projects and financial resources provided by the Recycling Fund since its setting up in 2001 until 31st December 2005, including two projects of waste oils recovery in DETOX, s.r.o. – plant Rimavská Sobota. The Recycling Fund has supported a number of projects, for example: collection and recovery of batteries and lead accumulators, collection and processing of used tyres, collection and material recovery of multilayer packaging materials. Recently the Fund has supported a new technology for WEEE recovery, which will contribute to meet recycling targets of the Slovak Republic. The Recycling Fund plays an important role also in municipal waste management by supporting separate collection of waste. Municipalities may apply either for a non-claimable subsidy through projects or they may apply for an allowance for certain types of waste that have been sorted out, which is claimable according to waste act. Whereas in 2002, only 18 municipalities applied to the Fund for the claimable allowance, until January 2006 almost 1700 did so. Therefore, thanks to the Fund, separated collection of municipal waste is currently being performed in more than a half of municipalities in the Slovak Republic.

In the follow-up discussion more details on financial mechanism and responsibilities for achieving targets were presented. According to the waste act, the Ministry is responsible for achieving recycling and recovery targets and the Recycling Fund is the instrument helping to do it. The Recycling Fund submits annual report and financial report to the Board of Directors and all data on the number of successful projects and allocated finances are available on the Internet.

Balance and Upgrading of Waste Lubricants in Slovak Republic

Mr. Jozef MIKULEC, from Slovnaft VURUP, Bratislava delivered a lecture on lubricating oils management in Slovakia. He presented figures on the consumption of lubricants in Slovakia and compared the situation with EU 15. In Slovakia, the consumption of automotive oils is lower by 15%, while the consumption of industrial oils is much higher, which can influence the potential of waste oil collection. Moreover, based also on the experience of neighbouring countries, there is a permanent year-to-year decrease of the collection by 1.5% - 2%. It is caused by new engine oils that need not to be replaced. Mr. Mikulec identified the main problems of waste oil handling. Waste Catalogue does not differentiate between waste oils from lubrication and waste from fuel and water emulsions, which results in misinterpretation of the waste oil quantities. Due to missing technical guidelines, it is not possible to distinguish between chlorine-containing lubricating oils and chlorine-free oils. Classification of waste oils is based on their properties, but not on the content of contaminants.

The Best Available Technologies in the Process of Utilization of Waste Oils

Mr. Ján CVENGROŠ from Faculty Chemical and Food Technology of the Slovak Technical University delivered a comprehensive technical lecture describing advanced technologies operated in Europe (25 regeneration plants) and also in Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, USA and Canada. Process MOHAWK, based on vacuum distillation and hydrogenation, is considered as the most efficient regeneration currently operated in two plants (California and Canada). Mr. Cvengroš presented also a process developed by the Slovak research team based on chemical pre-treatment – vacuum distillation – hydrofinishing. The process was developed in the seventies of the last century, but it has not been realized up to now, although it could provide the regeneration of high yield and of excellent quality. It can be concluded that waste oil regeneration is economical rather than technical problem. Economical viability of waste oil regeneration depends on the price of crude oil, environmental legislation, tax policy, volume and quality of collected waste oils, availability and accessibility of regeneration units, the price of base lubrication oils and the price of fuel oils.

Background Analysis for Development and Establishment of Lubricating Oil Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The first day was concluded by brief information about the project sponsored by UNEP/MAP and UNEP/SBC and managed by the BCRC in Bratislava. As Mr. Verner HUSELJIC, the Project Manager, could not attend the workshop, Ms. Dana Lapešová presented the status of project activities, used methodology and preliminary results acquired from questionnaires. Key findings are the following: no source separation of used oils; vast majority of used oils is burned as cheap alternative fuel; burning in cement kilns could be alternative. The country shall develop and adopt legislation based on producer responsibility, introduce source separation, adopt financing instruments. Further steps shall cover the setting up of efficient reporting/ monitoring/sanction system, training and public awareness campaigns and the implementation of ESM system.

25 April 2006

EU Legislation, Implementation and Control in Spain

Mr. Luis DIAZ DE RIVERA, Port Authority – Harbour Master Office delivered the introductory lecture about the state organization and responsibility division among the central government, municipalities, provinces and self-governing communities (19) in Spain. Responsible for the management of environmental protection are self-governing communities. He provided participants with a detailed list of legal regulations related to waste lubricating oil management in Spain and described the control procedure, including the obligation of small producers (< 10 t/y) to be registered and the obligation of great producers (> 10 t/y) to be authorized. Regarding waste management planning, the self-governing communities prepare their own plans. The Ministry Council approves of a national plan, that is revised in four years interval.

Waste Lubricating Oil Management in the Valencia Region (Spain): Collection, Producers and Manager Authorization, Recovery and Elimination

Mr. Jorge BLANCO from the Regional Government of Valencia opened his presentation with geographical data of Valencia Region and the organization of Regional Government. In this region the Regional Ministry of Territory and Housing is responsible for urbanism and environment, including waste management. Afterwards, he presented some data related to waste lubricating oil in Spain and in Valencia Region, emphasizing that in 2004, 89% of thr oil generated in the Valencia Region was treated. Also he provided more details on waste oil (hazardous waste) transport and on required documentation. The Regional Ministry of Territory and Housing, through the Waste Area, provided a service which gives the producers and the managers of hazardous waste the chance to fill in the paperwork by internet using a digital signature and a password, to facilitate the processing of the data. Governing board of the Central Government controls the input and output of waste lubrication oils between communities. Governing board of the Autonomous Community controls the input and output of waste lubrication oils and their management inside the community. The volume of treated waste oils depends not on the volume of waste oils produced, but on the volume of waste oils collected.