DOE/CS/40338-4 I North Carolina Used Motor Oil = Refining Program Final Report

Work Performed for the Department of Energy Under Contract No. DE-EG01-80CS 40338

~ Date Published-February 1984

North Carolina State University Raleigh, N.C.

U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy Division of Industrial Energy Conservation

DISC LA1 M E R

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Available from the National Technical Information Service, U. S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22 16 I .

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Codes are used for pricing all publications. The code is determined by the number of pages in the publication. Information pertaining to the pricing codes can be found in the current issues of the following publications, which are generally available in most libraries: Energy Research Abstructs, (ERA); Govemment Reports Announcements and Index (CRA and I); Scientific and Technical Absnact Reports (STAR); and publication, NTIS-PR.360 available from (NTIS) at the above address.

DOEICS140338-4 Distribution Category UC-92b

North Carolina Used Motor Oil - Refining Program Final Report

Dr. Wayland C. Griffith, Principal Investigator Mechanical Engineering North Carolina State University Raleigh, N.C. 27695-7910

Dennis W. Brinkman, Technical Project Officer Bartlesville Energy Technology Center PO. Bok 2128 Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74005

Funding Provided by Alternative Materials Branch Office of Industrial Programs Division of Conservation and Renewable Energy Washington, D.C. 20585

Work Performed for the Department of Energy Under Contract No. DE-EGO1-80CS 40338

Date Published-February 1984

U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary, Conservation and Renewable Energy Division of Industrial Energy Conservation Washington, D.C. 20585

NORTH CAROLINA USED MOTOR O I L RE-REFINING PROGRAM: FINAL REPORT

by

Wayland C. G r i f f i t h l

ABSTRACT

Exper i ence of t h e S t a t e of North C a r o l i n a i n a c q u i r i n g and d e m o n s t r a t i n g a new type of p l a n t f o r r e - r e f i n i n g used motor is documented i n a series of p u b l i c a t i o n s and summarized i n t h i s f i n a l r e p o r t . The r e c y c l i n g program i n c l u d e d development of a complete sys t em f o r c o l l e c t i n g used o i l , r e - r e f i n i n g and drumming o p e r a t i o n s , and product sales t o S t a t e and l o c a l government a g e n c i e s . The program was u n d e r t a k e n as a p a r t of t h e S t a t e ' s o v e r a l l ene rgy and r e s o u r c e c o n s e r v a t i o n p lan . S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e g o a l s were t o d e m o n s t r a t e o i l r e - r e f i n i n g , save ene rgy and a v a l u a b l e , l i m i t e d n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e and by so do ing i n c r e a s e p u b l i c awareness of c o n s e r v a t i o n . F e a s a b i l i t y S t u d i e s i n i t i a t e d i n 1976 s u g g e s t e d t h a t r e - r e f i n i n g used motor o i l f o r S t a t e and l o c a l government v e h i c l e f l e e t s would be t e c h n i c a l l y and economica l ly a t t r a c t i v e f o r a rate of about 500,000 g a l l o n s of o i l p e r y e a r u s i n g a new p r o c e s s developed by t h e P h i l l i p s Pe t ro l eum Company. Execu t ive and L e g i s l a t i v e a p p r o v a l was g i v e n t o p u r c h a s e a t u r n k e y p l a n t f o r $1.4 m i l l i o n . A c o o p e r a t i v e e f f o r t was a r r a n g e d w i t h t h e a i d of a U.S. Department of Energy g r a n t . Departments of Energy and Defense, t h e N a t i o n a l Bureau of S t a n d a r d s , t h e S t a t e of North C a r o l i n a and North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y i n Rale igh . s e l e c t i o n , env i ronmen ta l impact s t u d i e s , and p e r m i t s . The p l a n t was d e l i v e r e d i n 1980 and t u r n e d o v e r t o t h e S t a t e f o r use a t t h e beg inn ing of 1981. E x p e r i e n c e i n a l l f a c e t s of t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n was r e p o r t e d i n eubsequent T o p i c a l R e p o r t s and p a p e r s ; o r g a n i z a t i o n , t r a i n i n g , economics, l o g i s t i c s , e n v i r o n m e n t a l a s e e s s a e n t , p l a n t o p e r a t i o n s , and q u a l i t y c o n t r o l . After t h e f i r s t y e a r of o p e r a t i o n , a number of changes t o p rocedures and t h e p l a n t i t s e l f were i d e n t i f i e d as n e c e s s a r y for r e a c h i n g t h e d e s i r e d p r o d u c t i o n r a t e . These m o d i f i c a t i o n s were u n d e r t a k e n j o i n t l y by North C a r o l i n a and by P h i l l i p s , and were l a r g e l y comple t e by e a r l y 1983. s h o r t a g e of used motor o i l s u i t a b l e f o r r e - r e f i n i n g . l i m i t i n g demons t r a t ion of p l a n t performance as m d i f i e d . two and a h a l f y e a r s have been o b t a i n e d :

Invo lved were t h e

The f i r s t of f o u r T o p i c a l Repor t s d e s c r i b e d t h e p r o c e s s e s of s i t e

C o n c u r r e n t l y , t h e d r a m a t i c s h i f t s i n world o i l p r i c e s and a v a i l a b i l i t y c o n t r i b u t e d t o a T h i s s h o r t a g e c o n t i n u e d th rough mid-1983, s e r i o u s l y

The f o l l o w i n g r e s u l t s of o p e r a t i o n s f o r t h e f i r s t

. product q u a l i t y c o n s i s t e n t l y e x c e l l e n t , s a t i s f y i n g c r i t e r i a as SF-CC 30W, MIL L-46152 Rev. C. c u m u l a t i v e sales approach ing 500,000 g a l l o n s . . . . s h o r t a g e of used o i l s u i t a b l e f o r r e - r e f i n i n g became a c u t e i n 1982. . c u r r e n t p r o j e c t i o n s i n d i c a t e economic break-even a t 500,000 - 600,000 g a l l o n s p e r y e a r r a t e . . env i ronmen ta l impact of r e - r e f i n i n g g e n e r a l l y benign , s i n g u l a r e v e n t s c o n t a i n a b l e . . f u t u r e o p e r a t i o n s v i a b l e , m a r g i n a l l y a t t r a c t i v e f o r p r i v a t e i n v e s t m e n t s .

average c o s t of p r o d u c t between $4 - $5 p e r g a l l o n compared t o sales p r i c e of $2.57 per g a l l o n . p l a n t o p e r a t i n g r e l i a b i l i t y and l e n g t h y o p e r a t o r t r a i n i n g needs were major problems i n i t i a l l y .

A complete l ist of p u b l i c a t i o n s from t h e program is i n c l u d e d i n a n append ix of t h i s r e p o r t .

I 'I

- 1/ P r o f e s s o r of Mechanical and Aerospace E n g i n e e r i n g , North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , R a l e i g h , NC 27650

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

T h i s r e p o r t was p r e p a r e d by Wayland C. G r i f f i t h , P r o f e s s o r of Mechanical and Aerospace E n g i n e e r i n g , North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y who s e r v e d a s T e c h n i c a l E v a l u a t i o n Manager f o r t h e p r o j e c t . The c o n t e n t s r e f l e c t t h e c o l l e c t i v e e f f o r t s of many peop le in t h e F e d e r a l and S t a t e Government, t h e o i l r e - r e f i n i n g program o f f i c e , p l a n t management and o p e r a t o r s , and North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y who worked ha rmon ious ly t o g e t h e r over a f i v e y e a r p e r i o d t o demons t r a t e u sed motor o i l r e - r e f i n i n g . a p p r o p r i a t e p o i n t s i n t h i s and o t h e r r e p o r t s on t h e p r o j e c t . Mr. G i l . M. Holland has e a r n e d our p a r t i c u l a r thanks f o r his c o u n s e l and d i r e c t i o n th roughou t t h e l i f e of t h e program.

Many of t h e i r names a p p e a r at

ii

c

I

CONTENTS

I.

11.

111.

IV . V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX .

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8 .

INTRODUCTION

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

THE EVALUATION TASK

PLANT OPERATIONS

COORDINATION OF TECHNICAL EVALUATION

ECONOMICS AND LOGISTICS

LABORATORY TESTING

EMMISSIONS FROM THE PLANT

CONCLUSIONS

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Publications

APPENDIX B: Student Participation

APPENDIX C: Abstracts of Topical Reports

FIGURES

Organizational Placement of the Program in State Government

Re-Refining Project Organization

Plant Demetallization Section

PLant Hydrotreating Section

Plot Plan of Plant

View of Demetallizing and Hydrotreating Skids

In-Process Tankage at Plant

Relation Between Cost of Goods and Monthly Production

1

i

5

6

12

15

15

17

19

20

21

22

7

8

9

10

13

14

14

16

I

I. INTRODUCTION

The S t a t e of North C a r o l i n a has been o p e r a t i n g a r e - r e f i n e r y . T o r used moto t -Oi l t o Kemonstrate t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s of ene rgy and r e s o u r c e c o n s e r v a t i o n and t o enhance g e n e r a l p u b l i c awareness of c o n s e r v a t i o n p r a c t i c e s t h a t p r o t e c t t h e environment . The program i n c l u d e s work on a complete sys t em from c o l l e c t i n g used o i l through d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e r e - r e f i n e d p roduc t for u s e in S t a t e and loca l government v e h i c l e f l e e t s and c o n t r o l l e d d i s p o s a l of r e s i d u a l waste p r o d u c t s .

Commerce, and North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y . T h i s r e p o r t summarizes t h e t o t a l e x p e r i e n c e from i n c e p t i o n of t h e i d e a i n 1976 t o t h e p r e s e n t , i n c l u d i n g n e a r l y t h r e e y e a r s of a c t u a l p l a n t o p e r a t i n g p r a c t i c e . Many d e t a i l s of i n t e r e s t t o s p e c i a l i s t s are c o n t a i n e d in t h e T o p i c a l Repor t s i s s u e d by t h e U.S. DOE, o t h e r p u b l i c a t i o n s r e f e r e n c e d h e r e , and t h e s e s of s t u d e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s . These are l i s t e d i n Appendix A.

Those c o n t e m p l a t i n g s t a r t - u p of an o i l r e - r e f i n i n g program w i l l f i n d t h i s r e p o r t of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t . In a d d i t i o n t o t h e d i r e c t and q u i t e s p e c i f i c i s s u e s of p l a n t performance i n a t e c h n o l o g i c a l s e n s e and t h e key economic c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h i t , o t h e r major i s s u e s i n v o l v e l o g i s t i c s , t r a i n i n g , env i ronmen ta l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s and p e r m i t s , and t h e c r e a t i o n of a n i n f r a s t r u c t u r e f o r d e a l i n g wi th used o i l c o l l e c t i o n , s t o r a g e , and f i n i s h e d o i l d i s t r i b u t i o n and sales. In t h e case of t h e North C a r o l i n a e x p e r i e n c e , two e l emen t s of c o n s i d e r a b l e impor t ance were i n p l a c e and a v a i l a b l e t o suppor t t h e program a t t h e t ime of i ts i n c e p t i o n ; a S t a t e - w i d e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and warehousing network, and an o rgan ized p o l i c y and s t a f f t o p r e p a r e a n env i ronmen ta l impact s t u d y and comparable documen ta t ion i n s u p p o r t of numerous permit a p p l i c a t i o n s . On t h e o t h e r hand, t h e S t a t e had no d e p t h of t a l e n t or expe r i enced peop le in d i r e c t i n g or o p e r a t i n g oil r e f i n i n g o r r e - r e f i n i n g f a c i l i t i e s . The p l a n t embodied nuch new t echno logy . It was, in f a c t , t h e f i r s t of its k ind and r e q u i r e d t h e r e f o r e an u n u s u a l l y e x t e n s i v e e d u c a t i o n and t r a i n i n g pe r iod for a l l invo lved . T h i s need was l a r g e l y f i l l e d th rough v i g o r o u s e f f o r t s by t h e p l a n t manufac tu re r , t h e P h i l l i p s Pe t ro l eum Company.

Subsequeqt s e c t i o n s of t h i s r e p o r t i n c l u d e a b r i e f c h r o n o l o g i c a l h i s t o r y of t h e program, a d e f i n i t i o n of t h e e v a l u a t i o n t a s k s as deve loped f o r a U.S. WE g r a n t in p a r t i a l suppor t of t h e p r o j e c t , r e s u l t s of work on each of t h e t a s k s t a t e m e n t s , and c o n c l u s i o n s . A l so , t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s r e s u l t i n g from t h e e f f o r t , a list of s t u d e n t p a r t i c i p a n t s w i t h t h e i r d e g r e e s , and o t h e r d e t a i l e d , s p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n is c o n t a i n e d in t h e appendices .

The e f f o r t is a c o o p e r a t i v e v e n t u r e of S t a t e Government, t h e U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense and

11. HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

The f o l l o w i n g ch rono logy i d e n t i f i e s t h r e e p e r i o d s w i t h r a t h e r d i f f e r e n t t y p e s of a c t i v i t i e s and mjor p a r t i c i p a n t s . The f i r s t , e x t e n d i n g from 1976 t o 1978, i n v o l v e d f e a s i b i l i t y s t u d y , concep t a n a l y s i s and r e s o u r c e a l l o c a t i o n . The second , 1978 t o 1980, w a s f o c u s s e d on o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g , s i t e s e l e c t i o n , p r e p a r a t i o n of an env i ronmen ta l impact s t a t e m e n t and numerous pe rmi t a p p l i c a t i o n s , and development of t h e f i n a l s i t e f o r i n s t a l l a t i o n of t h e r e - r e f i n e r y and its a n c i l l i a r y f a c i l i t i e s . P l a n t check-out, t r a i n i n g of o p e r a t o r s and p r e l i m i n a r y o p e r a t i o n s commenced e a r l y in 1981. This t h i r d p e r i o d , which has i n c l u d e d shakedown of t h e p l a n t , development of o p e r a t i n g p r o c e d u r e s , con t inued t r a i n i n g , and some s i g n i f i c a n t p l a n t m o d i f i c a t i o n s d i c t a t e d by e a r l y e x p e r i e n c e , is j u s t drawing t o a close and, as hoped, w i l l be fol lowed by s t e a d y Opera t ions . As d e t a i l e d in later s e c t i o n s , t h e t e c h n i c a l f e a s i b i l i t y of p roduc ing a ve ry h igh q u a l i t y eng ine o i l has been w e l l documented. The c o n d i t i o n s for a t t r a c t i v e economic o p e r a t i o n a r e now I d e n t i f i e d , seem a c h i e v a b l e , but have been on ly p a r t i a l l y demons t r a t ed .

Chronology: 1976 North C a r o l i n a i n i t i a t e s p l a n n i n g and f e a s i b i l i t y s t u d i e s under t h e a e g i s of g r a n t

from t h e F e d e r a l Energy P o l i c y and C o n s e r v a t i o n Act.

1977 The S t a t e Energy Conse rva t ion P l a n i n c l u d e s r e c y c l i n g of l u b r i c a t i n g o i l f o r re-use i n t h e S t a t e v e h i c l e f l e e t ; a c q u i s i t i o n of an o i l r e p r o c e s s i n g p l a n t f o r o p e r a t i o n by t h e S t a t e is one o p t i o n .

Fol lowing numerous c o n t a c t s w i t h o t h e r s t a t e s and w i t h i n d u s t r y , a newly p a t e n t e d p r o c e s s deve loped by t h e P h i l l i p s Pe t ro l eum Company was i d e n t i f i e d as having a p a r t i c u l a r l y a t t r a c t i v e p o t e n t i a l . F u r t h e r a n a l y s e s l e a d t o suppor t by t h e Governor and by t h e Advisory Budget Commission of t h e L e g i s l a t u r e f o r a c q u i r i n g a r e - r e f i n e r y c a p a b l e of m a i n t a i n i n g "a p r o d u c t i o n l e v e l i n e x c e s s of 600,000 t o 700,000 g a l l o n s of o i l p e r year"*, a rate a t which S t a t e needs cou ld be economica l ly s e r v e d .

f P r o p o s a l t o U.S. WE "Eva lua t ion of Motor o i l Recyc l ing Demonstrat ion", r e v i s e d September 8 ,

!

1978; p. 19

1

An a p p r o p r i a t i o n of $ 1 . 3 ~ 1 toward pu rchase of a r e - r e f i n e r y was made and t h e Department o f C o r r e c t i o n s a u t h o r i z e d to r e - a l l o c a t e an a d d i t i o n a l $100,000 f o r purchase of a P h i l l i p s PROP p l a n t .

A c o n t r a c t of $1.4m w a s made f o r d e l i v e r y by P h i l l i p s of a skid-mounted r e - r e f i n e r y hav ing a nominal a n n u a l c a p a c i t y of two million g a l l o n s ( w i t h round-the-clock, 365 day o p e r a t i o n ) .

The Department of C o r r e c t i o n s was d e s i g n a t e d t o l e a d t h e program s i n c e i t had i n p l a c e a s t a t e w i d e warehousing and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n network. Suppor t would be g i v e n by t h e Depart- ment of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y . and p o l i c y d i r e c t i o n by a Board of Directors.

By t h e summer of 1978 a p l a n t had been c o n t r a c t e d for, s i t i n g and o t h e r n e c e s s a r y i s s u e s were under s t u d y , and a p r o j e c t team i n v o l v i n g s e v e r a l b ranches o f S t a t e government and the u n i v e r s i t y had been formed. These a c t i o n s completed t h e f i r s t phase of t h e program. P r e l i m i n a r y d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e U.S. DOE on t h e p r o j e c t were h e l d and a p r e l i m i n a r y p r o p o s a l f o r s u p p o r t submi t t ed .

Phase two of t h e program i n v o l v e d s i t e s e l e c t i o n , env i ronmen ta l impact s t u d i e s , permit a p p l i c a t i o n s , and c o n s t r u c t i o n . Program: T o p i c a l Report I, S i t e S e l e c t i o n , P e r m i t s , and Environmental Impact Study", December, 1981. ( A v a i l a b l e from NTIS).

These e l emen t s are r e p o r t e d in DOE/CS/40338-1, "North C a r o l i n a Used Motor Oil &-Refining

A b r i e f summary f o l l o w s .

S p r i n g 1978 Cri ter ia set f o r t h e p l a n t s i te by P h i l l i p s , s u b j e c t t o t h e i r i n s p e c t i o n and a p p r o v a l , were:

Reasonable s i t e i s o l a t i o n i n t h e e v e n t of a n a c c i d e n t a l release of o b j e c t i o n a b l e odor s

B u f f e r zone f o r ground water run-off A v a i l a b i l i t y of water S i z e and p r e s s u r e of water l i n e s Adequate water mains f o r f i r e p r o t e c t i o n S a n i t a r y and storm sewer - l o c a t i o n and s i z e N a t u r a l g a s a v a i l a b i l i t y Electr ic power s e r v i c e Zoning r e s t r i c t i o n s B u i l d i n g codes Easement 8

Water and Sewer permits Access roads t o s i te Prox imi ty t o main highways Type of soil and l o a d bearLng characteristics Water t a b l e 6 presence of rock D r a i n i n g - Flood ing C l o s e n e s s to r e s i d e n t i a l or b u s i n e s s area S e t t l i n g due t o ground f a u l t s or abandoned mines L o c a t i o n of f i r e s t a t i o n The a t t i t u d e of t h e community

The f o l l o w i n g q u a n t i t a t i v e c r i te r ia were set Area r e q u i r e d for s k i d s - minimum of one acre. Area r e q u i r e d f o r s u p p o r t i n g f a c i l i t i e s - minimum of t h r e e acres. Steam - Minimum of 135 p s i - would p r e f e r 150 p s i - 1,000 l b s .

Water - 3,000 gals. per e i g h t hour s h i f t . Waste water - must meet s t a n d a r d s of t h e p r e v a i l i n g code where

p e r o p e r a t i n g hour.

t h e p l a n t is l o c a t e d ( f o r example, we i n s t a l l e d a waste water p r e t r e a t m e n t p l a n t )

l b s k i d s o n t o lowboys. Rail - Access t o r a i l r o a d s i d i n g f o r c r a n e un load ing of 90,000

S p r i n g 1978

Summer 1978

S i t e on Old Garner Road i n s o u t h R a l e i g h approved and c o n s t r u c t i o n s t a r t e d . Due t o t h e benign impact of t h e p l a n t , a Nega t ive D e c l a r a t i o n was p repa red i n l i e u of an env i ronmen ta l impact s t a t e m e n t .

C i t i z e n conce rns began t o be hea rd and deve loped i n t o o r g a n i z e d o p p o s i t i o n t o l o c a t i n g t h e p l a n t a t t h e s i t e under development .

2

I

F a l l 1978

F a l l 1978

Winter 1978-79

Summer 1979

F a l l 1979

S p r i n g 1980

Summer 1980

F a l l 1980

December 1980

F i n a l r e v i s e d p r o p o s a l t o U.S. DOE f o r c o s t - s h a r i n g g r a n t s u b m i t t e d .

S i t e development h a l t e d pending r e s o l u t i o n of d i s p u t e s ; t h e i s s u e s had e v i d e n t l y become p o l i t i c a l i n t h a t year of l o c a l e l e c t i o n s .

Garner Road s i t e abandoned and 11 a l t e r n a t e l o c a t i o n s c a r e f u l l y i n v e s t i g a t e d . The p r e s e n t p l a n t s i t e on U.S. 70 i n Garner was € i n a l l y chosen , i n p a r t because of s t r o n g encouragement by t h e C i t y of G a m e r . The d e c i s i o n was a l s o made t o p r e p a r e a f u l l env i ronmen ta l impact s t u d y for t h i s and t h r e e back-up s i tes as a p r e c a u t i o n . A two-year d e l a y in p l a n t a v a i l a b i l i t y r e s u l t e d from a l l t h e s e untoward e v e n t s .

F i n a l env i ronmen ta l impact s t a t e m e n t f i l e d . (See T o p i c a l Report I f o r t e x t and p u b l i c comments).

S i t e development s t a r t e d .

U.S. DOE s u p p o r t i n g g r a n t of S398K awarded t o S t a t e of North C a r o l i n a for a 2 1/2 y e a r e v a l u a t i o n s tudy .

P l a n t s k i d s a r r i v e a t Gamer by r a i l . I n s t a l l a t i o n and check-out by P h i l l i p s c o n t i n u e s t o end of y e a r . In a d d i t i o n t o t h e skid-mounted u n i t s of t h e p l a n t , s e v e r a l a u p p o r t i n g f a c i l i t i e s were put i n p l a c e by North C a r o l i n a :

b o i l e r house o i l s t o r a g e t a n k s o f f i c e and s t o r a g e b u i l d i n g waste water p re - t r ea tmen t p l a n t

A r equ i r emen t f o r p r e - t r e a t i n g waste w a t e r had not been i d e n t i f i e d f o r t h e R a l e i g h s i t e , t h i s a r o s e t o s a t i f y Town of Garner r e g u l a t i o n s on pH and phenol d i s c h a r g e s .

R e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r program t r a n s f e r r e d t o N.C. Department of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

D e c i s i o n made t o add an a n a l y t i c a l c h e m i s t r y l a b o r a t o r y a t t h e s i t e t o s a v e t r a v e l t o u n i v e r s i t y and Department of A g r i c u l t u r e l a b o r a t o r i e s . U n i v e r s i t y u n d e r g r a d u a t e and g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s t o c a r r y o u t a n a l y s e s on r o t a t i n g s c h e d u l e s .

P h i l l i p s p e r s o n n e l o p e r a t e a l l e l e m e n t s of r e - r e f i n e r y , f i n d numerous i n s t a n c e s of c o r r o s i o n , l e a k s and component f a f l u r e s due presumably t o long s t o r a g e of p l a n t a s s o c i a t e d w i t h program d e l a y .

During a c t i v a t i o n of t h e h y d r o t r e a t e r c a t a l y s t w i t h b u t y l mercap tan , some of t h i s pungent chemica l escaped i n t o t h e was tewa te r t r e a t m e n t system. The s e v e r a l c i t i z e n compla in t s were t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e of what have remarkably few a i r and water e n v i r o n m e n t a l problems w i t h t h e p l a n t .

F i n a l a c c e p t a n c e runs complete and North C a r o l i n a f o r m a l l y a c c e p t e d t h e p l a n t .

Samples from t h e f i r s t few thousand g a l l o n s of o i l r e - r e f i n e d and b l ended w i t h a d d i t i v e s t o make 30W motor o i l were s e n t t o L u b r i z o i l , t h e a d d i t i v e s u p p l l e r , f o r e n g i n e sequence tests.

These e v e n t s completed t h e second major phase of t h e program. The S t a t e had t h e f i r s t of a new t y p e of h i g h t echno logy r e - r e € i n e r y and waa p repa red t o deve lop It i n t o a working demons t r a t ion . 'Itro f a c t s t h a t had a b e a r i n g on l a te r e v e n t s were t h e two-year d e l a y In g e t t i n g s t a r t e d w i t h t h e i n c u r r e n c e of a s s o c i a t e d o p e r a t i n g c o s t s p l u s t h e c a p i t a l c o s t s f o r t h e s e v e r a l a u x i l i a r y f a c i l i t i e s t h a t had not been budgeted i n i t i a l l y .

grew no h i g h e r . S e v e r a l f a c t o r s have been i d e n t i f i e d t o a c c o u n t for t h i s f a i l u r e of a " l e a r n i n g c u r v e " t o y i e l d s t e a d i l y g r e a t e r o u t p u t . month. On a d a i l y and even a weekly basis t h i s r a t e was o f t e n o b t a i n e d but could not be s u s t a i n e d .

Beginning in J a n u a r y 1981. monthly p r o d u c t i o n r o s e r a p i d l y t o 15.000 g a l l o n s of f i n i s h e d p roduc t and t h e n

The economic break-even rate s t i l l co r re sponded to about 40,000 g a l l o n e p e r

i

3

I

The f o l l o w i n g e x c e r p t s from monthly r e p o r t s i l l u s t r a t e bo th unique and c o n t i n u i n g problems t h a t c u r t a i l e d o u t p u t , as w e l l as p o s i t i v e h i g h l i g h t s .

Feb rua ry 1981

March 1981

A p r i l 1981

J u l y 1981

August 1981

Oc tobe r 1981

November 1981

December 1981

Februa ry 1982

May 1982

Formal a p p r o v a l t o market N.C. r e - r e f i n e d o i l as API S e r v i c e SF-CC and MIL- L-46152A rece ived . F i r s t 1 ,500 g a l l o n s of p r o d u c t o i l sh ipped t o cus tomers .

The Counc i l of S t a t e Governments h e l d a c o n f e r e n c e i n R a l e i g h on "North C a r o l i n a ' s Innova t ive O i l Re-Ref i n i n g P r o j e c t ." Repeated breakdowns hamper p r o d u c t i o n .

The a n a l y t i c a l l a b o r a t o r y w a s p u t i n t o use.

A c a t a l y s t bed change i n t e r r u p t e d o p e r a t i o n s f o r a week; t h i s was tw ice t h e e x p e c t e d down time and came much soone r t h a n e a r l y p r o j e c t i o n s had i n d i c a t e d .

The t h i r d Annual Conference of t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n of O i l Recovery C o o r d i n a t o r s was he ld i n Raleigh.

An u p s e t in t h e sewage p re - t r ea tmen t p l a n t f o r c e d shutdown and c l eanup . I t was a l s o found t h a t t h e d e m e t a l l i z e r cannot be used e f f e c t i v e l y t o s e p a r a t e a n o i l - w a t e r emulsion o r t o p r o c e s s o i l w i t h more than abou t 12% water.

P r o d u c t i o n was 14,355 g a l l o n s i n J u l y .

Conversion from f u e l o i l t o g a s in t h e b o i l e r f e e d was accomplished d u r i n g a one week shutdown.

P r i n c i p a l o p e r a t i n g problem was c logged l i n e s . T h i s appea red t o r e s u l t from g r a d u a l b u i l d u p r a t h e r t han a s i n g l e even t . Access p o r t s added t o s i m p l i f y f u t u r e c l e a n i n g .

Two around-the-clock p e r i o d s of ex tended o p e r a t i o n were run i n an a t t e m p t t o s e p a r a t e more c l e a r l y t h e t r a n s i e n t and s t e a d y s t a t e a s p e c t s of p l a n t b e h a v i o r . The runs were of 30 and 56 hour s d u r a t i o n , not i n c l u d i n g a f o u r hour warmup pe r iod . S i g n i f i c a n t o b s e r v a t i o n s i n c l u d e d ve ry s t e a d y f lows w i t h o u t s h o r t - p e r i o d f l u c t u a t i o n s and accompanying n o i s e s from t h e f l a s h t a n k s and f i l t e r bede, and s i g n i f i c a n t l y easier c o m a n d ove r s e p a r a t i o n of water from bo th o i l and l i g h t ends. On t h e basis of t h e s e r e s u l t s , addi- t i o n a l o p e r a t o r s a r e t o be h i r e d and t r a i n e d t o nuke 24-hour o p e r a t i o n f o r a few days p e r week f e a s i b l e .

The s t a i n l e s s s teel h e a t exchanger f o r hydrogen w a s found t o be co r roded th rough . A 10 day shutdown of t h e h y d r o t r e a t e r r e s u l t e d .

North C a r o l i n a and P h i l l i p s ag reed i n p r i n c i p l e on e x t e n s i v e a d d i t i o n s and m o d i f i c a t i o n s to t h e p l a n t . The g o a l is t o a c h i e v e t r i p l e d o i l o u t p u t and and t h e r e b y r each p r o f i t a b l e o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s .

P r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h e f i r s t twelve months of o p e r a t i o n was 140,000 g a l l o n s .

Blowouts i n t h e plate-and-frame f i l t e r s e r i o u s l y hamper p r o d u c t i o n .

Loss of n a t u r a l g a s p r e s s u r e a t t h e boiler r e s u l t e d i n numerous p i p e s f r e e z i n g o v e r a weekend.

S a l e s of t h e l i g h t ends by-product s t r e a m i n i t i a t e d .

Approval r e a f f i r m e d t o d e p o s i t f i l t e r cake i n s a n i t a r y l a n d f i l l . Spent c l a y and c h a r c o a l f i l t e r bed m a t e r i a l a l s o approved.

28,500 g a l l o n s produced, h i g h e s t ach ieved i n one month.

4

S i t e p r e p a r a t i o n s s t a r t e d f o r p l a n t improvements and m o d i f i c a t i o n s . Major items:

a u t o m a t i c f i l t e r f o r d e m e t a l l i z e d o i l a d d i t i o n a l b o i l e r a d d i t i o n a l o i l s t o r a g e t a n k s f i l t e r and DAP mixing house warehouse

The S t a t e a c q u i r e d an a d d i t i o n a l 4 acres.

M r . Vernon P e r r y and Major E. T. Green, N.C. S t a t e Highway P a t r o l , r e p o r t e d on t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e w i t h r e - r e f i n e d o i l i n p a t r o l cars. They are "very s a t i s f i e d w i t h what ( t h e y ) have r e c e i v e d from t h e r e - r e f i n e r y . " No o i l - r e l a t e d problems have a r i s e n i n 40,000,000 miles of use. Both G e n e r a l Motor and C h r y s l e r have a s s u r e d t h e Highway P a t r o l t h a t they w i l l honor w a r r a n t i e s on t h e i r new cars t h a t u s e N.C. r e - r e f i n e d o i l .

Agreement reached w i t h t h e base commander, Marine Corps a t Che r ry P o i n t . N.C. f o r r e g u l a r c o l l e c t i o n of u s e o i l .

November 1982 P r o d u c t i o n c o n t i n u e s , but a t reduced rate as c o n s t r u c t i o n p roceeds .

Supply of used o i l f e e d s t o c k cri t ical . S t a t e garage s o u r c e s d e p l e t e d , v e r i f y i n g i n i t i a l p r o j e c t i o n s t h a t about 300,000 g a l l o n s of used o i l p e r y e a r c o u l d be o b t a i n e d . F u l l p r o d u c t f o n a f t e r p l a n t m o d i f i c a t i o n s r e q u i r e s m j o r new s o u r c e s i n c l u d i n g m i l i t a r y and commercial .

With U.S. DOE concur rence , c o n t r a c t f o r u n i v e r s i t y s u p p o r t t o program e x t e n d e d f o r 5 months.

December 1982 P r o d u c t i o n d u r i n g t h e second y e a r was 218,000 g a l l o n s a t an a v e r a g e c o s t of a b o u t $4 .60 /ga l lon . I n view of t h e f i x e d and v a r i a b l e c o s t e l emen t s i n v o l v e d , breakeven c o r r e s p o n d s t o a round 480,000 g a l l o n s p e r y e a r sales at t h e c u r r e n t p r i c e of $2.57 p e r g a l l o n .

During t h e f i r s t h a l f of 1983 c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t s were rmde t o check out e l e m e n t s of t h e p l a n t 8s t h e y became a v a i l a b l e and t o t r a i n o p e r a t o r s i n t h e i r use. A second 6000 g a l l o n t a n k e r was a c q u i r e d t o augment used o i l c o l l e c t i o n .

A comprehensive e f f o r t t o e s t a b l i s h a d d i t i o n a l s o u r c e s of used e n g i n e o i l occup ied mejor program management a t t e n t i o n e a r l y i n 1983. C o n t a c t s were made w i t h 82 m i l i t a r y bases i n N.C. and a d j a c e n t s t a t e s . P a r a l l e l d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e Department of Defense and t h e G e n e r a l S e r v i c e s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n have m e t w i t h p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e s a t h e a d q u a r t e r s l e v e l s . S e v e r a l t a n k e r l o a d s of used o i l have been c o l l e c t e d . The program o f f i c e is s e e k i n g both u n r e s t r i c t e d s o u r c e s and c o n t r a c t u a l ag reemen t s whereby two-way o r c l o s e d cycle c o l l e c t i o n , r e - r e f i n i n g , and r e t u r n d e l i v e r y of f i n i s h e d o i l m y be accomplished.

The program o f f i c e was r e o r g a n i z e d t o ref lect t h e t r a n s i t i o n from development t o p r o d u c t i o n and t h e o p e r a t i n g crew i n c r e a s e d t o 10 p l a n t o p e r a t o r s (some a lso work as d r i v e r s ) and 1 f u l l - t i m e d r i v e r .

A s p i l l of o i l from t h e wastewater h o l d i n g t a n k o c c u r r e d d u r i n g one weekend i n A p r i l . S e v e r a l hundred g a l l o n s of o i l r a t e r emul s ion e scaped i n t o a d j a c e n t ground and i n t o a small stream. The S o l i d Waste Management D i v i s i o n and t h e Department of N a t u r a l Resources a c t e d promptly and p r o f e s s i o n a l l y t o c o n t a i n t h e s p i l l and t o c l e a n up t h e o i l . The c a u s e was t r a c e d t o a d r a i n v a l v e t h a t was l e f t open f o r unknown reasons . Rearrangement of t h e p i p i n g g r e a t l y r e d u c e s t h e chance of a r e c u r r e n c e and a new c a t c h b a s i n has been c o n s t r u c t e d as a f u r t h e r p r o t e c t i v e measure.

The u n i v e r s i t y s u p p o r t c o n t r a c t w a s f u r t h e r ex tended t o August 16, 1983.

i 111. THE EVALUATION TASK

The U.S. Department of Energy, O f f i c e of I n d u s t r i a l Programs, wide a g r a n t t o t h e S t a t e of North a r o l i n a f o r "Eva lua t ion of Motor O i l Recyc l ing Demons t r a t ion" i n 1980. T h i s g r a n t had a two-fold purpose ; o assist t h e S t a t e w i t h r e s e a r c h and development r e l a t e d t o o i l r e - r e f i n i n g and t o make a v a i l a b l e th rough e p o r t s , c o n f e r e n c e s and v i s i t a t i o n s i n f o r m a t i o n about t h e d e m o n s t r a t i o n program of u s e t o both s ta te and r i v a t e e n t r e p r e n e u r s . The pe r fod of performance was from A p r i l 1, 1980 t o J u l y 31, 1982, l a t e r ex tended Lthout change t o f u n d i n g t o August 16, 1983.

Funds were d i v i d e d a b o u t e q u a l l y between t h e program o f f i c e f o r u s e by p a r t i c i p a t i n g d e p a r t m e n t s of t a t e government and e n v i r o n m e n t a l d i v i s i o n s , and North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y f o r t e c h n i c a l s u p p o r t . s c u l t y and s t u d e n t s i n t h e Departments of Chemical , I n d u s t r i a l , and Mechanical 6 Aerospace E n g i n e e r i n g orked under g e n e r a l t e c h n i c a l d i r e c t i o n p rov ided by t h e E n g i n e e r i n g Design C e n t e r . The o r g a n i z a t i o n a l

5

arrangement is d e s c r i b e d i n t h e n e x t p a r t of t h i s r e p o r t . The work s t a t e m e n t c o n t a i n e d t h e f o l l o w i n g s i x t a s k s :

1. Prov ide for t h e o v e r a l l d i r e c t i o n of t h e e v a l u a t i o n program. Issue monthly and q u a r t e r l y p r o g r e s s r e p o r t s and o t h e r s as a p p r o p r i a t e .

2. O p e r a t e r e c y c l i n g p l a n t , c o l l e c t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n network, and document manpower r e q u i r e m e n t s and ene rgy u t i l i z a t i o n d a t a .

3. C o o r d i n a t e e l emen t s of t h e t e c h n i c a l e v a l u a t i o n program, i s s u e reports on t e c h n i c a l p r o g r e s s .

4. E s t a b l i s h m a n i f e s t system f o r o i l f e e d s t o c k ; d e v e l o p c o l l e c t i o n and d i s t r i b u t i o n sys t em and a S i m u l a t i o n model; q u a n t i f y cost e l e m e n t s i n terms of manpower and d o l l a r s .

5 . I n v e s t i g a t e l a b o r a t o r y t e s t i n g methods f o r c o n t r o l of factors e f f e c t i n g p l a n t pe r fo rmance , q u a l i t y and c o n s i s t e n c y of p r o d u c t .

6. Measure and a n a l y z e e m i s s i o n s from t h e p l a n t and p r e p a r e p e r i o d i c r e p o r t s .

O v e r a l l d i r e c t i o n of t h e e v a l u a t i o n program was p rov ided t h r o u g h t h e o f f i c e of t h e P r o j e c t s D i r e c t o r w i t h t h e T e c h n i c a l E v a l u a t i o n Manager s p e c i f i c a l l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r c o o r d i n a t i o n and s e e i n g t h a t a p p r o p r i a t e r e p o r t s were p r e p a r e d and d i s t r i b u t e d .

was t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e Department of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n where it r e s i d e s a t p r e s e n t . The o r g a n i z a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n of t h e program is shown in F i g u r e I , and t h e i n t e r n a l p r o j e c t o r g a n i z a t i o n i n FiKure 2.

n e c e s s a r y . Membership of t h e Board is:

The r e - r e f i n i n g program i n i t i a l l y was t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e Department of C o r r e c t i o n s . Later it

P o l i c y gu idance i s p rov ided by t h e Board of Directors t h r o u g h r e g u l a r monthly mee t ing and o t h e r s as

J a n e S . P a t t e r s o n , S e c r e t a r y , Department of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n J. K. Sherron , Deputy S e c r e t a r y , Department of A d m i n i s t r a t i o n Dr. Quentin L indsey , Governor ' s S c i e n c e Advisor Mrs. Eula Turner, C i t i z e n of Garne r Dr. J a y L a n g f e l d e r , N a t u r a l Resources 6 Counnunity Development P r o f e s s o r J. R. Canada, N.C. S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y P r o f e s s o r J. K. F e r r e l l , N.C. S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y D r . Robert Novak, P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r P r o f e s s o r W. C. G r i f f i t h , T e c h n i c a l E v a l u a t i o n Manager Mrs. B e t t y Carter, S e c r e t a r y t o t h e Board

The i n t e r n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e p r o j e c t is shown i n F i g u r e 2. There have been few changes i n t h i s arrangement s i n c e i n i t i a t i o n of t h e program, b u t as d e s c r i b e d i n t h e later s e c t i o n on P l a n t O p e r a t i o n s . t h e f u l l - t i m e s t a f f has grown from 7 i n 1980 t o 15 a t p r e s e n t . one chemica l l a b o r a t o r y a n a l y s t , a f u n c t i o n p rov ided by s e v e r a l s t u d e n t s working a r o t a t i n g s c h e d u l e unde r P r o f e s s o r F e r r e l l ' s d i r e c t i o n .

S e c t i o n s IV t h rough VI11 a d d r e s s t h e r ema in ing f i v e t a s k s i n t u r n . It was i n i t i a l l y p l anned t o c a r r y o u t a s y s t e m a t i c comparison of t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l e f f e c t s of p l a n t o p e r a t i o n w i t h a l t e r n a t e s t r a t e g i e s fo r h a n d l i n g used o i l bu t a s u b c o n t r a c t f o r t h i s c o u l d n ' t be n e g o t i a t e d s a t i s f a c t o r i l y . I n s t e a d , w i t h DOE c o n c u r r e n c e , p e r t i n e n t i n f o r m a t i o n is i n c l u d e d l a te r i n t h i s r e p o r t and i n T o p i c a l R e p o r t s .

Program d i r e c t i o n and c o o r d i n a t i o n was handled by Jerome F. C o l l i n s and Bruce C r a n f o r d , O f f i c e of I n d u s t r i a l Programs, C o n s e r v a t i o n and Renewable Energy, U.S. DOE, w i t h t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e from Dr. Dennis Brinkman, B a r t l e s v i l l e Energy Technology C e n t e r , and Dr. Donald Ekcker , N a t i o n a l Bureau of S t a n d a r d s .

To t h i s number may be added t h e e q u i v a l e n t of

IV. PLANT OPERATIONS

The p l a n t was d e s i g n e d f o r manual o p e r a t i o n and c o n t r o l . C o l l e c t i o n of d a t a and material samples f o r a n a l y s i s were made on a r e g u l a r s c h e d u l e and a number of p e r i o d i c l o a d i n g and u n l o a d i n g f u n c t i o n s also done manually. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e p l a n t manager and crew were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e a n c i l l i a r y o i l t a n k farm, boiler house , wastewater p r e t r e a t m e n t p l a n t , a d d i t i v e mixing and f i n i s h e d o i l drumming. The o p e r a t o r s doub led a s d r i v e r s f o r used o i l c o l l e c t i o n and o c c a s i o n a l l y f o r p r o d u c t d e l i v e r y . Maintenance and r e p a i r r e q u i r e d a d d i t i o n a l s k i l l s w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t o p e r a t o r t r a i n i n g ex tended w e l l beyond t h e nominal p e r i o d s u g g e s t e d as a d e q u a t e by t h e p l a n t manufac tu re r .

drawn from s t o r a g e , adxed w i t h a diammonium phospa te (DAP) - water s o l u t i o n , and passed th rough t h r e e s u c c e s s i v e reactor v e s s e l s . Fol lowing a d d i t i o n of d i a tomaceous e a r t h f i l t e r a i d , t h e p r o c e s s o i l was f i l t e r e d t o remove p a r t i c u l a t e carbon, i n s o l u b l e metal p h o s p h a t e s and r e s i d u a l DAP and f i l t e r a i d . The o i l a t t h i s s t a g e was almost f r e e of metalr while h e a t i n g had removed water and l i g h t ends . The l a t t e r

F i g u r e s 3 and 4 show t h e s c h e m a t i c arrangement of t h e p l a n t aa i n i t i a l l y c o n f i g u r e d . Used o i l uns

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r e f e r s t o d i s s o l v e d hydrocarbons of low molecu la r weight t h a t presumably had t h e i r o r i g i n f n fuel and p roduc t s of o i l c r a c k i n g i n eng ines .

pas s ing t h e o i l a t h i g h p r e s s u r e and t empera tu re over a c a t a l y s t i n t h e p re sence of hydrogen t o remove s u l f u r , n i t r o g e n , and c h l o r i n e from t h e o i l molecules . The hydrogen s t r e a m was scrubbed w i t h c a u s t i c t o remove H2S and o t h e r s u l f u r compounds and t h e n t h e hydrogen r e c i r c u l a t e d . q u a l i t y motor o i l , i n t h i s case a n SAE 30W most commonly used i n S t a t e v e h i c l e s .

The p l a n t was s o des igned t h a t a l l l i g h t ends e n t e r one o u t p u t s t r e a m , h e r e a f t e r c a l l e d ke rosene . A s e p a r a t e waste gas stream c o n t a i n i n g ammonia and hydrogen s u l f i d e among o t h e r t h i n g s w a s passed th rough a commerical methane- f i red t o r c h and exhaus ted t o t h e atmosphere.

F u r t h e r f i l t r a t i o n th rough c l a y and a c t i v a t e d c h a r c o a l l e d t o h y d r o t r e a t i n g . T h i s was accompl ished by

Blending w i t h a d d i t i v e s m d e

The u s e or d i s p o s a l of waste streams w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n a l a t e r s e c t i o n . I n i t i a l l y t h e p l a n t s t a f f c o n s i s t e d of a manager and four o p e r a t o r - d r i v e r s . A 1 1 / 2 - s h i f t o p e r a t i n g

schedu le was adopted i n which two o p e r a t o r s s t a r t e d h e a t i n g t h e p l a n t up a t 6 AM and commenced o i l p r o c e s s i n g a t LO AM when t h e y were j o i n e d by t h e o t h e r t w o o p e r a t o r s . O i l was p rocessed u n t i l t h e f t l t e r became loaded as ev idenced by i n l e t p r e s s u r e . y i e l d e d around 1000 g a l l o n s of l u b e s t o c k p roduc t . I n c l u d i n g time f o r cool-down, t h e F i l t e r was empt ied and p repa red by 6 PM f o r t h e next days run.

While t h i s s c h e d u l e enab led t h e program t o supp ly t h e e a r l y demand f o r r e - r e f i n e d o i l , it also ev idenced s e v e r a l d e f i c e n c i e s . Monthly o u t p u t r a r e l y got above 15,000 g a l l o n s and any breakdown of equipment n e c e s s i t a t e d a n immediate r e s c h e d u l i n g of t h e days work. I t became a p p a r e n t t h a t f r e q u e n t s t a r t - u p and shut-down of t h e p l a n t w a s bo th i n e f f i c i e n t and i n i m i c a b l e t o r e l i a b l e o p e r a t t o n s .

p l a n t was run from 48 t o 72 h o u r s , depending on the a v a i l a b i l i t y of o p e r a t o r s and r e l i a b t l t t y of t h e equipment. T h i s p rocedure i n c r e a s e d monthly o u t p u t but n o t as m c h a s a n t i c i p a t e d tor t w o r easons . Changing t h e f i l t e r s t i l l r e q u i r e d t h r e e or f o u r hour s i n t e r r u p t i o n t o runn ing t h e d e m e t a l l i z e r and component f a i l u r e s con t inued t o p l ague s t e a d y o p e r a t i o n s . The d e m e t a l l i z e r s e c t i o n had a nominal c a p a c i t y of 4 gallons p e r minute i n p u t . The o u t p u t was less, due t o removal of w a t e r , l i g h t e n d s , and f i l t r a t e . I t was found t h a t t h e c a p a c i t y of t h e h y d r o t r e a t i n g s e c t i o n was h i g h e r , up t o 6-8 g a l l o n s p e r minute. Also, t h e h y d r o t r e a t e r was found t o be compara t ive ly dependable . T h i s p e r m i t t e d t h e development of a s c h e d u l e i n which h y d r o t r e a t i n g , b l end ing of a d d i t i v e s and drumming could be accompl ished a lmos t i ndependen t ly of d e m e t a l l i z i n g .

r eason d i s c u s s i o n s were opened w i t h t h e p l a n t manufac tu re r t o i d e n t i f y means f o r i n c r e a s i n g th roughou t and p l a n t re l i e b i li t y . i t s e l f w h i l e t h e S t a t e would assume r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r s e v e r a l improvements and a d d i t i o n s t o t h e a n c i l l i a r y equipments on t h e s i te . Four a d d i t i o n a l a c r e s of land would be a c q u i r e d t o accommodate a d d i t i o n a l o i l storage t a n k s and a warehouse. R a i l a c c e s s would a l so become a p o s s i b i l i t y w i t h t h e added land .

T h i s t y p t c a l l y occur red a f t e r 6-8 hour s of o p e r a t i o n and

In 1982 t h r e e more o p e r a t o r s were added and a n around-the-clock s c h e d u l e adop ted . Once s t a r t e d , t h e

The d e m e t a l l i z i n g p r o c e s s i n c l u d i n g f i t r a t i o n was t h e r e f o r e t h e c r i t i c a l a c t i v i t y . P r i m a r i l y for t h i s

A p l a n w a s deve loped in which P h i l l i p s would p rov ide a number of changes and a d d i t i o n s t o the p l a n t

The a c t i o n s which P h i l l i p s would carry Out i n 1982 were: 1.

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Waste o i l Feed Tank Hea t ing ("-920) -Provide a d d i t i o n a l h e a t t o incoming w a s t e o i l from T-920 t o d e m e t a l l i z e r s k i d .

DAP P r e p a r a t i o n and T r a n s f e r -Design, f a b r i c a t e , and i n s t a l l an o f f - s k i d DAP/water mix t a n k , pump and t r a n s f e r sys t em and connec t t o e x i s t i n g DAP i n j e c t i o n sys t em on d e m e t a l l i z e r s k i d .

D e m e t a l l i z i n g Reactors (R-I , R-2, and R-3 -Provide a f u n c t i o n a l and cost e f f c c t t v e method f o r i n c r e a s i n g t h e steam h e a t i n p u t t o r e a c t o r s R-1. R-2 , and K - 3 , i n c l u d i n g a p p r o p r i a t e c o n t r o l sys t ems f o r e f f e c t i v e o p e r a t i o n s .

P r o c e s s F i l t e r -Purchase and i n s t a l l a more automated f i l t e r of s u i t a h l e d c s t g n and c a p a c i t y t o p r o c e s s d e m e t a l l i z e d o i l a t t h e r a t e d c a p a c t t y of t h e p l a n t . Re-locate and i n s t a l l t h e e x i s t i n g p l a t e and f rame f i l t e r t o f u n c t i o n as a s t a n d b y u n i e .

Me te r ing f o r M a t e r i a l Balance -Purchase and i n s t a l l a p p r o p r i a t e meters i n t h e d e m e t a l l i z e r product l i n e and h y d r o t r e a t e r c h a r g e l i n e .

By-Product F u e l F r a c t i o n -Design, f a b r i c a t e , and i n s t a l l a n a p p r o p r i a t e de -emus l f i e r sys t em t o p r o c e s s f u e l f r a c t i o n byproduct . System t o be s i z e d t o accommodate byproduct q u a n t i t y when p l a n t is run a t r a t e d c a p a c i t y .

Upgrade P r o c e s s Steam System -SpeciEy, pu rchase , and i n s t a l i a s t eam g e n e r a t l n g sys t em commensurate w i t h t h e c u r r e n t r equ i r emen t s t o o p e r a t e t h e p l a n t a t r a t e d c a p a c i t y . P r e s e n t boiler t o f u n c t i o n as a s t a n d b y u n i t .

11

8. Revi se P i p i n g on Air S t r i p p e r S e c t i o n - Design, f a b r i c a t e , and i n s t a l l n e c e s s a r y p i p i n g , i n s t r u m e n t s and c o n t r o l s t o p l a c e t h e a i r s t r i p p e r (p rocesswide ) d i r e c t l y downstream of t h e l u b e s t o c k steam s t r i p p e r and ups t r eam of t h e f i n i s h e d o i l produce t a n k s .

9. P r o c e s s Heater Emergency Purge System - Design, f a b r i c a t e , and i n s t a l l an appro- p r i a t e p r o c e s s heater c o i l purge sys t em t o f u n c t i o n in case of t o t a l e lec t r ica l power f a i l u r e t o t h e p l a n t .

The S t a t e would be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e fo l lowing : 1. Water Trea tmen t P l a n t - Review t h e p l a n t water consumption i n c l u d i n g p r o c e s s ,

c o o l i n g , normal o i l y water, peak o i l y water, normal s i t e runoff and peak s i t e runof f which goes to t h e oil /water s e p a r a t o r . Rev i se and i n s t a l l a p p r o p r i a t e water t r e a t m e n t equipment to hand le t h e a n t i c i p a t e d waste water load when p l a n t i s o p e r a t i n g a t r a t e d c a p a c i t y .

2. F i n i s h e d and Blended Produce S t o r a g e - Purchase and i n s t a l l a minimum of two ( 2 ) l0,OOO g a l l o n s t o r a g e t anks . f o l l o w i n g s e r v i c e s , f i n i s h e d PROP o i l , b l e n d i ng or f i n l s h e d blended o i l ( s a l e s ) t anks .

Such t a n k s t o be o u t f i t t e d t o f u n c t i o n i n any of t h e

3. T r a n s f e r l i n e - I n s t a l l a p p r o p r i a t e t r a n s f e r l i n e and pump from o i l c o l l e c t o r t ank a t water treater t o waste o i l s t o r a g e t ank farm.

4. Drum l o a d i n g - S p e c i f y , pu rchase , and i n s t a l l a p p r o p r i a t e drum l o a d i n g and h a n d l i n g sys t em c a p a b l e of h a n d l i n g blended o i l o u t p u t of t h e PROP p l a n t o p e r a t i n g a t r a t e d c a p a c i t y .

5. S p e c i f y , p u r c h a s e , and i n i t i a t e u s e of " t a i l o r e d " covered dump c o n t a i n e r s f o r h a n d l i n g s p e n t c l a y and c a t a l y s t i n t h e p l a n t .

Except fo r t h e warehouse, a l l a p p r o p r i a t e work was completed e a r l y i n 1983 and t h e p l a n t pu t back on l i n e . F i g u r e 5 g i v e s t h e p l o t p l a n of t h e site. F i g u r e s 6 and 7 are views of t h e p l a n t s k i d s sh ipped from Oklahoma.

O p e r a t i o n s d u r i n g t h e S p r i n g and e a r l y Summer of 1983 c o n t i n u e d t o be e r ra t ic f o r two reasons . De-bugging c o n t i n u e d l o n g e r t h a n a n t i c i p a t e d and a n a c u t e s h o r t a g e of used o i l s u i t a b l e f o r r e - r e f i n i n g l i m i t e d b o t h t h e e x t e n t and f r equency of nu l t i -day runs. These f a c t o r s r e s u l t e d i n monthly p r o d u c t i o n q u a n t i t i e s and, more i m p o r t a n t , i n a p a t t e r n of p r o d u c t i o n costs p e r g a l l o n t h a t were not ve ry d i f f e r e n t f rom t h e r ange obse rved p r i o r t o modifying t h e p l a n t . The mod i f i ed p l a n t was s imply not f u l l y t e s t e d I n t h a t pe r iod . S e v e r a l n o t i c e a b l e g a i n s i n terms of c e r t a i n cost e l emen t s were masked by i n c r e a s e d c o s t s i n o t h e r categories. For example, t h e f u l l p o t e n t i a l of t h e i n c r e a s e d management and o p e r a t o r s t a f f was never f u l l y t e s t e d because t h e s e a r c h f o r used o i l proved t o be a heavy d i s t r a c t i o n .

P r i v a t e col lectors who were c o n t a c t e d were u n w i l l i n g o r u n a b l e t o supp ly s i g n i f i c a n t q u a n t i t i e s of r e - r e f i n a b l e o i l s i n c e t h e i r market f o r mixed o i l s as i n d u s t r i a l f u e l was s t r o n g . E x t e n s i v e d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h t h e G e n e r a l S e r v i c e s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n and t h e Department of Defense gave endorsement t o r e - r e f i n i n g F e d e r a l used o i l . Visits t o some 28 bases were p a r t i a l l y e n c o u r a g i n g and o i l is c u r r e n t l y being o b t a i n e d from s e v e r a l of t h e s e . The supp ly is d e v e l o p i n g s l o w l y , however. An unexpected problem w a s a l a c k of knowledge of how ouch uaed oil was a c t u a l l y i n h o l d i n g t a n k s and t h e mixed c h a r a c t e r of what was supposed ly used motor o i l . D e s p i t e t h e s e problems, bo th d i r e c t c o l l e c t i o n of used o i l from F e d e r a l bases and s e r v i c e g a r a g e s , and an o i l turn-around r e - r e f i n i n g s e r v i c e look p romis ing f o r t h e n e a r f u t u r e . A s i n d i c a t e d from economic s t u d i e s , a two- or t h r e e - f i e l d i n c r e a s e i n monthly th roughpu t is r e q u i r e d t o break even on costs and revenues.

V. COORDINATION OF TECHNICAL EVALUATION

T h i s t a s k was accompl i shed p r i m a r i l y th rough r e g u l a r weekly mee t ings of t h e p r i n c i p a l s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r v a r i o u s e l emen t s of t h e program. The meet ing s i t e a l t e r n a t e d between S t a t e o f f i c e s i n Ra le igh , t h e p l a n t in Garne r , and t h e U n i v e r s i t y . Later it was found t h a t monthly mee t ings were a d e q u a t e and t h e s e were used t o i d e n t i f y items f o r i n c l u s i o n in t h e monthly and q u a r t e r l y r e p o r t s s e n t t o t h e U.S. DOE. A smaller group. concerned j u s t w i t h l a b o r a t o r y chemical a n a l y s i s , con t inued t o meet weekly th roughou t t h e d u r a t i o n of t h e program.

o f f i c e s . Minutes of t h e s e mee t ings as w e l l a s t h e monthly and q u a r t e r l y r e p o r t s were d i s t r i b u t e d t o t h e p r i n c i p a l s . A s a g e n e r a l o b s e r v a t i o n , communications w i t h i n t h e p r o j e c t group were c o n s i s t e n t l y good and c o n t r i b u t e d t o a we l l -o rgan ized team e f f o r t .

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F i g u r e s 6 and 7 . View of d e m e t a l l i z i n g and h y d r o t r e a t i n g s k i d s ( a b o v e ) , and i n - p r o c e s s tankage s k i d ( b e l o w ) .

14

D i s c u s s i o n s between t h e U.S. DOE program managers and t h e N.C. p r i n c i p a l s l e d t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h a t f o u r T o p i c a l Repor t s would s e r v e t o make t h e main r e s u l t s of t h e e v a l u a t i o n program wide ly a v a i l a b l e . The f i r s t two of t h e s e would a d d r e s s s i t e s e l e c t i o n , p e r m i t s and e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t u d i e s as a u n i t , and s t a r t - u p economics and l o g i s t i c s as a n o t h e r . ( P u b l i c a t i o n s 3 and 5 i n Appendix A). The r ema in ing two T o p i c a l Repor t s would be i s s u e d a t t h e end of t h e e v a l u a t i o n program, c o v e r i n g o p e r a t i n g economics, and p l a n t o p e r a t i o n and chemis t ry . These are P u b l i c a t i o n s 8 and 9 in Appendix A. T h i s f i n a l r e p o r t comple t e s t h e document a t ion.

members of s ta te government and t h e u n i v e r s i t y c h a r a c t e r i z e d t h e e n t i r e e x p e r i e n c e . Whatever sho r t comings might have been p e r c e i v e d a l o n g t h e way, n u t u a l r e s p e c t and f o r e b e a r a n c e overcome.

One f u r t h e r p o i n t is worth emphasizing. E f f e c t i v e working r e l a t i o n s h i p s and communication between

V I ECONOMICS AND LOGISTICS

These t o p i c s were c o n t a i n e d in t h e t a s k f o r which P r o f e s s o r J. R. Canada of N.C. S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y was t h e P r i n c i p a l I n v e s t i g a t o r . D e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n is c o n t a i n e d in T o p i c a l Repor t s 2 and 3 ( P u b l i c a t i o n s 5 and 8 in Appendix A).

A s r e l a t e d i n ea r l ie r s e c t i o n s of t h i s r e p o r t , two major b a r r i e r s t o p l a n t o p e r a t i o n s a t an a n n u a l o u t p u t volume t h a t would be e c o n o m i c a l l y a t t r a c t i v e were equipment breakdowns and i n a d e q u a t e s o u r c e s of p r o c e s s a b l e used motor o i l . During t h e la t ter h a l f of 1982 and in 1983 f o l l o w i n g major p l a n t mod i f i ca - t i o n s , t h e l a t t e r l i m i t a t i o n w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y a c u t e .

8 ( r ep roduced from E x h i b i t 4 of P u b l i c a t i o n No. 8). Fixed c o s t s i n c l u d i n g l a b o r , g e n e r a l ma in tenance , i n s u r a n c e , and c o n s t a n t s u p p l i e s and materials were abou t $60,000 p e r month. V a r i a b l e c o s t s , p r i n c i p a l l y s u p p l i e s f o r t h e p r o c e s s and e n e r g y , were a p p r o x i m a t e l y $1.35 p e r g a l l o n . l a t te r f i g u r e was t h e a d d i t i v e a t $0.49 p e r g a l l o n of f i n i s h e d p roduc t . The e r ra t ic p a t t e r n of monthly o u t p u t is obv tous ; ave raged o v e r t h r e e month p e r i o d s , t h e cost p e r g a l l o n of p roduc t was mos t ly between $4 and $5 compared t o a s e l l i n g p r i c e of $2.57 p e r g a l l o n .

The r e l a t i o n s h i p between t o t a l c o s t of goods produced and g a l l o n s produced p e r month is shown in F i g u r e

The l a r g e s t s i n g l e e l emen t i n t h e

The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e summarizes s a l e s , n e t a c c o u n t i n g l o s s and t h e r e s u l t i n g c a s h f low l o s s by y e a r :

1981 1982 1983 ( f i v e months)

S a l e s revenue $296K $540K $134K Net a c c o u n t i n g l o s s ( i n c l u d i n g depre - 351K 542K 233K

c i a t i o n and 1 0 L l g a l nominal c o s t for used o i l . )

f o r l and a c q u i r e d in 1982.) Cash f low l o s s ( n o t i n c l u d i n g $200,000 346K 351K 130K

A n a l y s i s of t h e f i n a n c i a l d a t a t o d a t e y i e l d s a p r o j e c t i o n of 500 - 600,000 g a l l o n s of o u t p u t p e r y e a r a s r e q u i r e d f o r break-even. A s mentioned ear l ier , t h e e q u i v a l e n t of t h i s rate was a c h i e v e d on a d a i l y and a weekly b a s i s , but n e v e r s u s t a i n e d f o r even a month. The s h o r t a g e of used o i l p rec luded d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h e f u l l c a p a b i l i t y of t h e mod i f i ed p l a n t p r i o r t o June 30, 1983, so t h e f u t u r e is open t o s p e c u l a t i o n .

As r e p o r t e d i n d e t a i l in T o p i c a l Report 2 , an o r g a n i z e d l o g i s t i c s and i n v e n t o r y sys t em w a s deve loped f o r t h e e n t i r e program i n c l u d i n g used o i l c o l l e c t i o n th rough p r o c e s s i n g t o f i n a l p roduc t . For t h e r e a s o n s g i v e n , t h a t system w a s n e v e r f u l l y e x e r c i s e d but t h e documen ta t ion i s a v a i l a b l e .

VI1 LAB0 RAT0 RY TEST I NG

The chemica l a n a l y s e s summarized in t h i s s e c t i o n were p a r t of a t a s k f o r which P r o f e s s o r J. K. F e r r e l l was P r i n c i p a l I n v e s t i j a t o r . The r e s u l t s g i v e n are drawn from T o p i c a l Report 4 ( P u b l i c a t i o n 9 of Appendix A) .

of t h e in -p rocess o i l nust be measured t o p r o v i d e p r o p e r c o n t r o l of p l a n t o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s and of p roduc t o i l q u a l i t y .

l i g h t ends c o n t e n t t o d e t e r m i n e whe the r or not t h e o i l cou ld be p rocessed . From e x p e r i e n c e i t was found t h a t 7-10% water c o n t e n t was optimum and t h a t l i g h t ends up t o 10% were a c c e p t a b l e . For used o i l s o u t s i d e t h e s e r a n g e s , a p p r o p r i a t e mixing of " w e t " and "dry" o i l s t o g i v e s n a v e r a g e w i t h i n t h e d e s i r e d r ange was found t o be s a t i s f a c t o r y .

S u l f a t e d a s h was measured t o i n d i c a t e t h e amount of diammonium phospha te (DAP) t o be added. One pound of DAP p e r pound of s u l f a t e d a s h was used. A p r e d i c t i v e d e m e t a l l i z a t i o n t e s t , a c t u a l l y a l a b o r a t o r y r e p l i c a t i o n of t h e p l a n t p r o c e s s , was used t o d e t e r m i n e how w e l l t h e d e m e t a l l i z e d o i l would go t h r o u g h t h e f i l t e r . A lower t h r e s h o l d of 15 g a l l o n s p e r hour p e r s q u a r e f o o t of f i l t e r a r e a was e s t a b l i s h e d by e x p e r i e n c e , w i t h v a l u e s above 18 i n d i c a t i n g e a s y f i l t r a t i o n . See T o p i c a l Report 4 f o r d e t a i l s .

The f i v e sampl ing p o i n t s i n d i c a t e d on F i g u r e s 3 and 4 i d e n t i f y l o c a t i o n s a t which key c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

Incoming used o i l drawn from t h e waste o i l f e e d t a n k a t sampl ing s t a t i o n SI was t e s t e d f o r w a t e r and

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S i n c e v a r i a b i l i t y of t h e s e p r o p e r t i e s among s m a l l amounts of used o i l cou ld be handled by a p p r o p r i a t e mixing, a major recommendation was t o accumulate 10,000 t o 20,000 g a l l o n s of a c c e p t a b l e o i l a s a ba t ch t o he processed a s one l o t . Each l o t would be d e s i g n a t e d by a number, t h e d a t e on which p r o c e s s i n g commenced, and f u r t h e r i n -p rocess tests done f o r e a c h lo t . T h i s arrangement a l s o provided t r a c e a b i l i t y of l o t s c l e a r t h rough t o drumming.

water c o n t e n t w a s above 0.25%, t h e o i l was r e c y c l e d through t h e d e m e t a l l i z i n g r e a c t o r s . No d i r e c t c o r r e l a t i o n between p l a n t o p e r a t i o n and f i l t e r f e e d p r e d i c t i v e d e m e t a l l i z a t i o n was found.

shou ld be less t h a n 0.2%. water less than 0.15%, and both shou ld be p r a c t i c a l l y z e r o i n t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t t ank , S4.

c o l o r , and a c i d number. Also t h e r e shou ld be no water, l i g h t ends , or metallic con taminan t s remaining i n t h e o i l . Over t h e t h i r t y months of p l a n t o p e r a t i o n r e p o r t e d , a s m a l l but s t e a d y d e c l i n e i n v i s c o s i t y of t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t was d i s c e r n a b l e . To m a i n t a i n t h e f i n i s h e d p roduc t n e a r t h e c e n t e r of t h e range f o r 30W oil, b r i g h t s t o c k was added.

v i s c o s i t i e s , f l a s h p o i n t , and water c o n t e n t .

l u b r i c a t i n g o i l , d e s p i t e v a r i o u s o p e r a t i n g d i f f i c u l t i e s .

Sample S2 a t t h e f i l t e r f e e d t ank was t e s t e d for water c o n t e n t and p r e d i c t i v e d e m e t a l l i z a t i o n . I f t h e

S u l f a t e d a s h and water c o n t e n t were rneasured a t S3 t o v e r i f y s u b s t a n t i a l removal from p r o c e s s o i l . Ash

Q u a l i t y c o n t r o l tests on t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t were made f o r v i s c o s i t y , v i s c o s i t y index , f l a s h p o i n t ,

Fo l lowing b l e n d i n g w i t h L u b r i z o i l a d d i t i v e to produce t h e f i n a l product o i l , S5 was a g a i n checked f o r

I n g e n e r a l , it may be s a i d t h a t t h e p l a n t has c o n s i s t e n t l y produced a q u a l i t y o i l comparable t o v i r g i n

The f o l l o w i n g comments are quo ted from T o p i c a l Report 4: The major c o n c l u s i o n t o be drawn from t h e d a t a p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s r e p o r t is t h a t when t h e p l a n t i s used

t o r e - r e f i n e waste l u b r i c a t i n g o i l , t h e s e t of tests developed d u r i n g t h e p a s t t w o years and now i n c u r r e n t u s e , are s u f f i c i e n t t o c o n t r o l t h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e p l a n t and t o a s s u r e q u a l i t y of t h e f i n i s h e d p roduc t .

S e v e r a l recommendations can be made. F i r s t , i t has been recommended i n t h e p a s t and i t is recommended once a g a i n t h a t p r o p e r o p e r a t i o n of t h e p l a n t r e q u i r e s t h a t a t least a 10,000-20,000 g a l l o n supp ly of waste o i l f e e d s t o c k be accumulated and p rocessed as one lo t . T h i s allows t h e d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s of t h e waste o i l f e e d s t o c k , ' p r o p e r r e c o r d keep ing by l o t number, p rope r o p e r a t i o n of t h e p l a n t , and p r o p e r c o n t r o l o v e r t h e q u a l i t y of t h e f i n i s h e d p roduc t . In a d d i t i o n , t h e b l end ing of many s m a l l b a t c h e s of was te o i l f e e d s t o c k e l i m i n a t e s t h e problem of h igh or low water c o n t e n t on an i n d i v i d u a l ba t ch , h igh or l o w l i g h t ends c o n t e n t , and so f o r t h .

tests d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s r e p o r t be c a r r i e d ou t f o r each lo t .

a l o t of l u b e s t o c k p roduc t :

Second, i t is recommended t h a t c l o s e c o n t r o l be kep t o v e r t h e l o t number of each ba tch and t h a t t h e

T h i r d , i t is recommended t h a t t h e f o l l o w i n g list be used as t h e minimum r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a c c e p t a n c e of

1. Kinematic v i s c o s i t y of t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t a t 100°C shou ld be a t least 8.5 c s t . 2 . F l a s h p o i n t of t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t shou ld be a t least 425°F. 3 . The a c i d number of t h e l u b e s t o c k product shou ld be less than 0.1. 4. The water c o n t e n t of t h e l u b e s t o c k product shou ld be less than 0.1%. 5. The l i g h t ends c o n t e n t of t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t shou ld be less than 1%.

The c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e of b l e n d i n g l u b e s t o c k p roduc t w i t h b r i g h t s t o c k t o b r i n g t h e v i s c o s i t y up t o an a c c e p t a b l e range is a n e c e s s a r y p r a c t i c e caused by t h e q u a l i t y of t h e was te o i l f e e d s t o c k c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e i n North C a r o l i n a .

V I 1 1 EMISSIONS FROM THE PLANT

Emission of vapor s and odor s c o n s t i t u t e a major i s s u e i n t h e minds of t h e p u b l i c when any p r o d u c t i o n o p e r a t i o n is con templa t ed . Noise is a n o t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n i f t h e s i t e is i n a q u i e t a r e a . The g e n e r a t i o n of l i q u i d and s o l i d by-products or was te are a l s o of conce rn ; t h i s s e c t i o n d e s c r i b e s t h e n a t u r e of a l l such materials and t h e e x p e r i e n c e i n h a n d l i n g them.

B a r t l e s v i l l e , Oklahoma u s i n g waste o i l c o l l e c t e d i n North C a r o l i n a . Samples of t h e v a r i o u s s t r e a m s were ana lyzed f o r p r o p e r t i e s as c o n t r o l l e d by r e l e v a n t N.C. and F e d e r a l r e g u l a t i o n s . Also, s c i e n t i s t s from t h e S t a t e s ' a i r and water d i v i s i o n t r a v e l l e d t o B a r t l e s v i l l e t o t a k e r e a d i n g s . D e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n is c o n t a i n e d i n t h e T o p i c a l Repor t s on p e r m i t s and env i ronmen ta l s t u d i e s and on chemis t ry ( P u b l t c a t i o n s 3 and 9 i n Appendix A; a l s o see P u b l i c a t i o n s h and 7 ) .

The r e - r e f i n e r y as d e l i v e r e d and put i n o p e r a t i o n i n Garner was run by t h e manufac tu re r i n

The f o l l o w i n g l i s t i d e n t i f i e s t h e v a r i o u s s t r e a m s of conce rn : vapor s and o d o r s

p r o c e s s p r o d u c t s c a r r i e d th rough manifold t o f l a r e o d o r s from used o i l t r a n s f e r o p e r a t i o n s o d o r s from waste water p re - t r ea tmen t sys t em a c c i d e n t a l s p i l l s

p r o c e s s water k e r o s e n e by-product s p e n t c a u s t u c s o l u t i o n

l i q u i d s

17

I

l id ' ? f i 1 t e r cake s p e n t c l a y and c h a r c o a l s p e n t c a t a l y s t

A r e p o r t on a t m o s p h e r i c e m i s s i o n s from t h e p l a n t p r e p a r e d by the A i r Q u a l i t y Sec tTon, N.C. Department of Na tu ra l Resources and Community Development ( P u b l i c a t i o n 10, Appendix A ) d e s c r i b e s t h e sampl ing and a n a l y t i c a l methods used t o e v a l u a t e a i r q u a l i t y e f f e c t s . From e x t e n s i v e l i s ts of p o s s i b l e e m i s s i o n s t o the a tmosphere , tes ts were conducted t o s e a r c h f o r m e t a l s , p o l y n u c l e a r aromatics, hydrogen s u l f i d e and b u t y l mercaptan . concluded t h a t t h i s shou ld be cons ide red a trace amount. No p o l y n u c l e a r aromatics were found. The H2S w a s comple t e ly conve r t ed t o SO2 i n t h e f l a r e , t h e rate of e m i s s i o n be ing 0.0005 l b / g a l of p roduc t o i l . means t h e p l a n t emits one m i l l i o n t h t h e SO2 o f t h e smallest c o a l - f i r e d e l e c t r i c u t i l i t y o p e r a t i n g i n N.C.

by S t a t e s c i e n t i s t s showed no a d v e r s e r e a d i n g s . On s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s , measurements were a l so made i n r e sponse t o phone ca l l s compla in ing of odors. With t h e e x c e p t i o n s d e s c r i b e d n e x t , t h e s e too r e v e a l e d n o problems t r a c e a b l e t o t h e p l a n t . On two o c c a s i o n s when new c a t a l y s t was be ing a c t i v a t e d w i t h b u t y l mercaptan , errors l e d t o s p i l l s of small amounts of t h i s pungent subs t ance . ( I t is used by skunks f o r d e f e n s e and is also g e n e r a t e d n a t u r a l l y by p i n e t rees) . The s u b s t a n c e w a s q u i c k l y n e u t r a l i z e d w i t h b l e a c h i n g l i q u i d and no p u b l i c h e a l t h problem r e s u l t e d . On t h e p l a n t s i t e i t s e l f some odor is normal ly d e t e c t a b l e , be ing nuch l i k e t h a t commonly expe r i enced around a s e r v i c e garage . T h i s is s c a r c e l y d i s c e r n a b l e o u t s i d e t h e fence .

s o l u t i o n . The r e s u l t i n g w a s t e stream was o r i g i n a l l y c o l l e c t e d i n a 5000 g a l l o n h o l d i n g tank b u t l a t e r was used t o a d j u s t t h e pH of t h e waste wa te r t o meet Garner r equ i r emen t s .

d i s c u s s e d i n d e t a i l i n P u b l i c a t i o n 6, Appendix A. a c c e p t a b l e f o r d i r e c t d i s p o s a l i n t h e sewer a t t h e i n i t i a l Ka le igh s i t e , t h e waste w a t e r was n o t a c c e p t a b l e under Garne r r e g u l a t i o n s w i t h o u t p r e t r e a t m e n t . A commerical a e r a t o r - d i g e s t o r was a c c o r d i n g l y i n s t a l l e d t o remove t r a c e s of o i l and pheno l s and t o a d j u s t t h e pH. Due 'to t h e i n t e r m i t t e n t o p e r a t i o n of t h e p l a n t and o c c a s i o n a l f l o o d i n g of t h e s k i d c a t c h b a s i n s d u r i n g heavy r a i n s , t h i s p l a n t r e q u i r e d d a i l y a t t e n t i o n . Even so , i t was s h u t down on s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s by u p s e t s t o t h e chemica l ba l ance of t h e water t h a t k i l l e d t h e micro-organisms or by over f low. The worst of t h e s e e v e n t s took p l a c e i n A p r i l , 1983 when a n open v a l v e empt ied most of t h e c o n t e n t s of t h e 30,000 g a l l o n h o l d i n g t a n k i n t o t h e d i g e s t o r o v e r one weekend. I n a d d i t i o n t o o i l t h a t soaked i n t o nea rby ground, some was d e t e c t e d f o r abou t a n e i g h t h of a mile down a nearby c r e e k . Prompt and e f f e c t i v e work by t h e S t a t e s ' env i ronmen ta l c o n t r o l g roup and p l a n t p e r s o n n e l c l e a n e d t h e e n t i r e a f f e c t e d a r e a b e f o r e t h e next r a i n s t o r m . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e env i ronmen ta l problem c r e a t e d , t h i s and a l l o t h e r ma l func t ions a t t h e w a s t e w a t e r t reament p l a n t coused shutdown of o p e r a t i o n s f o r one t o s e v e r a l days. A number of c o r r e c t i v e changes were made but con t inued a t t e n t i o n i s obv ious ly r e q u i r e d .

The ke rosene by-product was u s e f u l as f u e l when mixed w i t h commerical h e a t i n g o i l and w a s s o l d on b i d f o r t h a t purpose . A s p roduced , i t had too low a f l a s h p o i n t and too nuch water c o n t e n t t o be used d i r e c t l y a s a f u e l . (See P u b l i c a t i o n 7 i n Appendix A ) . Equipment t o i n c r e a s e i t s u s e f u l n e s s was i n s t a l l e d by P h i l l i p s a s p a r t of t h e p l a n t improvement program. No d a t a were a v a i l a b l e on t h e r e s u l t s f o r i n c l u s i o n i n t h i s r e p o r t .

Aluminum w a s t h e o n l y m e t a l d e t e c t e d ; a t 2 . 2 ~ 1 0 - l o pounds p e r g a l l o n of oil produc t i t was

T h i s

Both t h e i n i t i a l a i r q u a l i t y measurements i n B a r t l e s v i l l e and unannounced tes ts a t t h e Garne r s i t e made

Hydrogen s u l f i d e and o t h e r s u l f u r compounds were sc rubbed from t h e vent g a s stream by a c a u s t i c soda

Of t h e l i q u i d e f f l u e n t s from t h e p l a n t , t h e waste water h a s caused t h e g r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y , as

Use of t h e s p e n t c a u s t i c s o l u t i o n t o a d j u s t t h e pll of t h e was te w a t e r was d i s c u s s e d ear l ie r . The f i l t e r c a k e , s p e n t c l a y , and s p e n t c h a r c o a l were t e s t e d independen t ly by t h e S t a t e s ' S o l i d Waste

Management D i v i s i o n and found t o be h i g h l y i n e r t ; t h e s o l u b l e l e a d c o n t e n t be ing less t h a n h a l f a p a r t p e r m i l l i o n . Approval was o b t a i n e d t o d i s p o s e of them i n a s a n i t a r y l a n d f i l l . The concept of mixing t h e s e m a t e r i a l s i n a n a s p h a l t b a t c h i n g p l a n t f o r u s e on t h e r o a d s was pursued w i t h t h e N.C. Department of T r a n s p o r t a t i o n b u t was r e j e c t e d .

t o x i c was te d i s p o s a l s i t e i n South C a r o l i n a . The p o s s i b i l i t y of r e t u r n i n g i t f o r r e c y c l i n g was i n v e s t i g a t e d , bu t t h e q u a n t i t y used p e r y e a r was deemed too small t o be economica l .

Spent c a t a l y s t , l a s t of t h e product s t r e a m s to be accoun ted f o r , was s e a l e d i n drums and sh ipped t o A

18

IX CONCLUSIONS

1. The demons t r a t ion program showed t h a t r e - r e f i n i n g of used motor o i l could c o n s i s t e n t l y y i e l d a h i a h q u a l i t y l u b r i c a n t w i t h p r o p e r t i e s comparable t o v i r g i n o i l s meet ing commercial and m i l i t a r y t e s t s p e c i f i c a t i o n .

2. Used o i l as c o l l e c t e d under t h i s program v a r i e s g r e a t l y i n l e v e l and t y p e of con taminan t s ; even w i t h a p p r o p r i a t e mixing des igned t o keep w a t e r and l i g h t e n d s w i t h i n expe r imen tab ly p r e f e r r e d c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , used o i l is d i f f i c u l t t o p rocess . The p r e s e n c e of p a r t i c u l a t e s , a c i d s , and o t h e r chemica l s p e r s i s t e n t l y produce seal and b e a r i n g wear, c o r r o d e meta l p a r t s , and c log l i n e s .

3. Dur ing t h e f i r s t two and a h a l f y e a r s of p l a n t s t a r t - u p , o p e r a t o r t r a i n i n g and improvements t o t h r p l a n t and o p e r a t i n g p rocedures , p roduc t ion costs ave raged a lmos t twice t h e f i n i s h e d product s a l r s p r i c e .

4. P roduc t ion t o t a l l e d n e a r l y 500,000 g a l l o n s d u r i n g t h i s t i m e .

5 . P r o j e c t i o n s based on e x p e r i e n c e i n d i c a t e t h a t t o break even , 500,000 t o 600,000 g a l l o n s mis t h e produced and s o l d p e r y e a r .

6. P r e s e n t l y a v a i l a b l e s o u r c e s of used o i l s u i t a b l e f o r r e - r e f i n i n g are c u r r e n t l y t n s u f f i c i r n t t o s u p p o r t t h i s l e v e l of o p e r a t i o n s .

7 . The env i ronmen ta l impact of t h e p l a n t i s g e n e r a l l y benign , a p p r o p r i a t e marke ts or s a f e t i1spo4.11 methods have been found f o r a l l l i q u i d and s o l i d was te s .

Fo; most e f f e c t i v e p l a n t o p e r a t i o n and q u a l i t y c o n t r o l , a s u p p l y of 10,000 - 20,000 g a l l o n s o f riscd o i l f e e d s t o c k must be accumula ted and t h e n p rocessed as one l o t . T r a c e a b i l i t y by l o t number is s i g n i f i c a n t .

8.

9 . To produce 30W produc t o i l i t is recommended t h a t t h e f o l l o w i n g l i s t he used R S t h e minimum requ i r emen t s f o r a c c e p t a n c e of a l o t of l u b e s t o c k p roduc t :

1. Kinemat i c v i s c o s i t y of t h e l u b e s t o c k p roduc t a t 100°C should he a t least 8 . 5 c s t .

2. F l a s h p o i n t of t h e lubes tock product shou ld be a s l e a s t 425°F.

3. The a c i d number of t h e lubes tock product shou ld he less than 0 . 1 .

4 . The water c o n t e n t of t h e lubes tock product shou ld be less t h a n 0 . 1 % .

5. The l i g h t e n d s c o n t e n t of t h e lubes tock product shou ld he less than 1 % .

The c u r r e n t p r a c t i c e of b l end ing l u b e s t o c k product w i t h b r i g h t s t o c k t o b r i n g t h e v i s c o s i t y u p t o a n a c c e p t a b l e range is a necessa ry p r a c t i c e caused by t h e q u a l i t y of t h e w a s t e o i l f e e d s t o c k c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e i n North C a r o l i n a .

10. The O i l Recyc l ing Board of D i r e c t o r s vo ted a t i t s August meet ing t o o f f e r t h e p l a n t f o r s a l e t o p r i v a t e b u s i n e s s . Numerous i n q u i r i e s have been r e c e i v e d . Some r e a c t i o n from t h e Garner commiini t y immedin te ly s u r f a c e d ; p r e v i o u s s u p p o r t t o t h e S t a t e - o p e r a t e d program changed t o conce rn o v e r p r i v a t e o p e r a t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h r e g a r d t o p o s s i b l e a i r p o l l u t i o n and o d o r s . I t s l ~ o u l d ht, no ted t h a t bo th p u b l i c and p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e s are s u b j e c t t o t h e same laws and r e g u l . i t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g e m i s s i o n s and t h a t adequa te methods of c o n t r o l a r e w e 1 1 docnmented.

1 9

APPENDIX A

P u b l i c a t i o n s

The f o l l o w i n g t e c h n i c a l r e p o r t s , a r t ic les , and g r a d u a t e t h e s e s were p repa red w i t h p a r t i a l s u p p o r t of t h i s program:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6 .

7 .

8.

9.

10.

The P h y s i c a l and Chemical C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of Recycled Motor O i l ; M.S. t h e s i s of George S t a n l e y S e b a s t i a n , J r . ; North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , Ra le igh , NC, 1980.

Waste O i l : North C a r o l i n a ' s Recovered Resource; Dick Howard; The Counc i l of S t a t e Government, 1980.

North C a r o l i n a Used Motor O i l Re-Refining Program: T o p i c a l Report 1 , S i t e S e l e c t i o n , Permits , and Env i ronmen ta l Impact Study; W. C. G r i f f i t h , G. M. Hol land, A. T a y l o r , S . T a y l o r ; DOE/CS/40338-1; December 1981; Ob ta in from t h e N a t i o n a l T e c h n i c a l Informa- t i o n S e r v i c e , U.S. Department of Commerce. S p r i n g f i e l d , V i r g i n i a 22161.

Re-Refined Motor O i l : The Exper i ence and Economics of a S t a t e Demonstrat ion Program t o Conserve a Va luab le Resource; John Canada; Annual N a t i o n a l Confe rence of t h e American I n s t i t u t e of I n d u s t r i a l Eng inee r s , New O r l e a n s , May 27, 1982.

North C a r o l i n a Used Motor O i l Re-Refining Program: T o p i c a l Report 2 , Economics and L o g i s t i c s : S t a r t u p Exper i ence and O p e r a t i n g P r o j e c t i o n s ; John Canada; DOE/CS/40338-2; J u l y 1982. O b t a i n from t h e N a t i o n a l T e c h n i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e , U.S. Department of Commerce, S p r i n g f i e l d , V i r g i n i a 22161.

Assessment of t h e North C a r o l i n a Re- re f ine ry For Used Motor O i l In C o n s e r v a t i o n and Env i ronmen ta l P r o t e c t i o n ; Wayland C. G r i f f i t h ; 1983 T r i a n g l e Conference on Env i ronmen ta l Technology, Chapel Hill, NC; A p r i l 1983.

An I n v e s t i g a t i o n of L igh t Ends Assoc ia t ed wi th t h e Re- re f in ing of Used Motor O i l ; t h e s i s of J a c k Randel B u t l e r ; North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , R a l e i g h , NC 1982.

North C a r o l i n a Used Motor Oil Re-Refining Program: T o p i c a l Report 3 , Economics and L o g i s t i c s : O p e r a t i n g R e s u l t s ; John Canada; DOE/CS/40338-3; J u l y 1983. Ob ta in from t h e N a t i o n a l T e c h n i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e , U.S. Department of Commerce, S p r i n g f i e l d , V i r g i n i a 22161.

North C a r o l i n a Used Motor O i l Re-Refining Program: T o p i c a l Report 4 , P l a n t O p e r a t i o n and Q u a l i t y C o n t r o l T e s t s ; J. K. Fer re l l , Te resa L. S c h u r t e r , Marsha l l R i t c h i e , Thomas M. Miller; DOE/CS-40338-4; September 1983. O b t a i n from t h e N a t i o n a l T e c h n i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e , U.S. Department of Commerce, S p r i n g f i e l d , V i r g i n i a 22161.

Atmospheric Emiss ions from t h e North C a r o l i n a Department of Emissions O i l Recyc l ing F a c i l i t y : Michael Y . A l d r i d g e ; A S p e c i a l Study Performed by t h e Source T e s t i n g S t a f f of t h e North C a r o l i n a Department of N a t u r a l Resources and Community Development, D i v i s i o n of Environmental Management, A i r Q u a l i t y S e c t i o n .

20

APPENDIX B

STUDENT PARTICIPATION AND INTEREST I N RE-REFINING

S t u d e n t s ' r e a c t i o n t o t h e o i l r e - r e f i n i n g program has been p o s i t i v e and v igo rous . They h e a r of i t f r m f a c u l t y , g e n e r a l p u b l i c i t y , and p e e r s who are d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e d i n r e s e a r c h t a s k s . s t u d e n t s have worked f o r t h e p r o j e c t i n connec t ion w i t h t h e d e g r e e i n d i c a t e d :

A t NCSU t h e f o l l o w i n g

P a t Napaporn S t a n S e b a s t i a n

Bob Horton Tom M i l l e r J i m Atach Lynn E i c h e l b e r g e r R i cky Weiger Jack B u t l e r

L a r r y Hamel Rene Wilson M. Ajmera M. Reodecha Rober t P a r k e r T e r e s a S c h u r t e r M a r s h a l l R i t c h i e

.Tracy P r o c t o r

Ph.D. MS

BS MS BS BS BS MS

BS MS MS

BS BS BS BS

Ph.D.

c a n d i d a t e 1980 ( T h e s i s r e c e i v e d t h e E.M. Schoenborn

Gradua te S tudy Award from t h e E a s t e r n N.C. S e c t i o n of AIChE.

1981 1983 1982 1982 1982 1982 (Mr. B u t l e r became p l a n t manager i n t h e

c a n d i d a t e c a n d i d a t e 1982 c a n d i d a t e c a n d i d a t e c a n d i d a t e c a n d i d a t e 1983

S p r i n g of 1983.)

Data on t h e p l a n t o p e r a t i o n have been used i n an e n g i n e e r i n g c o u r s e on t h e c o n t r o l of haza rdous was te and a p l a n t t o u r made by t h e s t u d e n t s . number of o t h e r cour ses .

s p e a k e r s programs. The S o u t h e r n Eng inee r Magazine, p u b l i s h e d by t h e ( s t u d e n t ) E n g i n e e r s Counc i l a t NCSU, f e a t u r e d t h e p l a n t on t h e c o v e r of t h e S p r i n g , 1982 i s s u e .

F a c u l t y have i n c l u d e d i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e r e - r e f i n i n g program i n a

The s t u d e n t s c h a p t e r s of ASME, AIChE, and AIIE have i n c l u d e d talks and subsequen t p l a n t t o u r s i n t h e i r

21

APPENDIX C

NORTH CAROLINA USED HOTOR OIL RE-REFINING PROGRAM: SITE SELECTION, PERMITS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY

by

W. C. G r i f f i t h J I , G. M. H o l l a n d ? /

A. Taylor?I, S. Tay lo r .- 41

ABSTRACT

The S t a t e of North C a r o l i n a h a s a used motor o i l r e - r e f i n i n g program t h a t collects c r a n k c a s e d r a i n - i n g s from v a r i o u s s o u r c e s , r e - r e f i n e s i t i n a p l a n t pu rchased from t h e P h i l l i p s Pe t ro l eum Company, and d i s t r i b u t e s t h e p r o d u c t t o S t a t e and o t h e r governmental g a r a g e s . T h i s r e p o r t d e s c r i b e s t h e s t e p s between t h e i n i t i a l d e c i s i o n t o e s t a b l i s h a used o i l r e - r e f i n i n g d e m o n s t r a t i o n program and r e c e i p t of a f i n a l permi t t o o p e r a t e a f a c i l i t y . The r e p o r t c o v e r s i n some d e t a i l t h o s e i s s u e s f a c e d in o b t a i n i n g a p p r o v a l t o e s t a b l i s h t h e program, select a s i te , g a i n p e r m i t s f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n and o p e r a t i o n , p r e p a r e a n a c c e p t a b l e e n v i r o n m e n t a l impact s t a t e m e n t , and s t a r t r e - r e f i n i n g used motor o i l . Many of t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s mde d u r i n g t h i s e x p e r i e n c e are germaine t o o t h e r states and t o p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e , a l t h o u g h t h e d e t a i l s may vary . T h i s i s t h e f i r s t in what is expec ted t o be a r e l a t e d series of r e p o r t s ; subsequen t numbers w i l l c o v e r t h e economics of p l a n t a c q u i s i t i o n and s t a r t - u p , t e c h n i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , and long term o p e r a t i o n s of t h e ' re - re f inery .

- 11 P r o f e s s o r of Mechanical and Aerospace E n g i n e e r i n g , North C a r o l i n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , R a l e i g h , NC 27650 - 21

- 31

- 41

P r o j e c t D i r e c t o r , Nor th C a r o l i n a Uaed Motor O i l R e - r e f i n i n g Program, 121 West J o n e s S t r e e t , R a l e i g h , NC 27603 D i r e c t o r , O f f i c e of Regu la to ry R e l a t i o n s , North C a r o l i n a Department of N a t u r a l Resources and Community Development, P. 0. Box 27687, R a l e i g h , NC 27611 Envi ronmen ta l O p e r a t i o n s S e c t i o n , North C a r o l i n a Department of N a t u r a l Resources and Community Develop ment, P. 0. Box 27687, R a l e i g h , NC 27611

22

I

NORTH CAROLINA USED MDTOR OIL RE-REFINING PROGRAM: TOPICAL REPORT 2 ECONOMICS AND LOGISTICS: STARTUP EXPERIENCE AND OPERATING PROJECTIONS

John R. Canada*

ABSTRACT

This is the second in a planned series of topical reports on a program to develop and demonstrate a State-operated re-refining system for used engine oil. The North Carolina Oil Re-refining Facility, using a 2,000,000 gallon input per year PROP plant, was installed in late 1980. During the first year of startup operation ending December 31, 1981, approximately 137,000 gallons were produced. THis was auch less than expected due to many impediments; however, product quality has consistently been excellent.

equipment upgrading and facility expansion/improvements w i l l be needed before the plant will produce satisfactorily.

For the first year, based on normal accrual accounting, operating costs exceeded revenues by about $350,000 and the negative cash flow was about $346,000. After upgrading, however, it is expected the plant w i l l generate revenues sufficient to repay the investment within ten years, even assuming that the selling price o f re-refined oil will not inflate faster than the cost of producing it.

descriptions of information forms and procedures developed for the facility.

Capital costs to date total about $2.3 million, and it is projected that an additional $1.5 million of

This report also contains sections reporting on the logistics of 011 pickup and delivery and also brief

* Professor of Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27650

23

I . I

NORTH CAROLINA USED MOTOR OIL RE-REFINING PROGRAM: TOPICAL REPORT 3 ECONOMICS AND LOGISTICS: OPERATING RESULTS

John R. Canada*

ABSTRACT

This is the third in a planned series of topical reports on a program to develop and demonstrate a State-operated re-refining system for used engine oil. The North Carolina Oil Re-Refining Facility, using a 2,000,000 gallon input per year PROP plant, was installed in late 1980. During the first year of startup operation ending December 31, 1981, approximately 137,000 gallons were produced.

Report 2 of this series relfects on the startup experience and financial results for the first year of operation (1981) as well as projected expectations at this time. This report concentrates on operating and financial results for 1982 and the first five months of 1983.

During the 17 months ending May 1983, only about 270,000 gallons were produced and sold. Based on normal annual accounting, the loss for that period was $685,060 and the cashflow loss was $480,679. Even after substantial upgrading modifications were done in 1982-83, the plant still has major throughpat problems, the greatest of which is the required quality and quantity of used oil feedstock.

and also projects future operating volumes necessary for the facility to cover costs. The report describes financial results. cost-variance analyses, production impediments encountered,

* Professor of Industrial Engineering, North Carolina State University, bleigh, NC 27650.

2 4