Snamprogetti S.p.a.

Michele Borza

Sergio Antonelli

Aldo Modenesi

Sergio Leoncini

A process for reclaiming spent oil comprises the steps of removing water and light hydrocarbons, thermally treating the stripped oil, extracting it with a supercritical gas to insolubilize impurities and additives, separating the gas-rich fractions from the oil-depleted gas fractions, expanding the insoluble fractions, separating the additives and impurities, separating the various hydrocarbon fractions according to the respective viscosities, compressing and recycling the gas phases and withdrawing the residue and the oil fractions according to the respective viscosities.

Spent oil recovery process

For refining spent motor oils in order to recover lubricating bases to be reused, the stock to be refined is first stripped of water and light hydrocarbons, then a first extraction with a solvent (preferably a lower paraffin), heating the oil stripped of the solvent, distilling it under vacuum to separate light, medium and heavy lubricating bases, heating the heavier lubricating base and then extracting it with the same solvent as aforesaid, and sending the lubricating bases, separately and individually, to a hydrofinishing stage. The recycle to solvent extraction of the heavy bases affords the advantage of important heat savings and the possibility of adopting blander working conditions in the hydrofinishing of the heavier lubricating bases.

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Cremona, Italy

Michele Borza