Figure 5. Oil which has been squeezed from road surface material moves Figure 6. Oil on the surface of a drainage ditch at the side of the road. This oily water will be transported from this ditch into streams during periods of rain. [1] [2] [3] References U.S. Attorney's Office, Estimate based upon Study of Waste Oil Disposal Practices in Massachusetts (A. D. Little, Inc., Jan. 1969) and other sources. American Petroleum Institute, Final Report on the Task Force on Used Oil Disposal. Motto, H. L., et al., Lead in soils and plants: its relationship to traffic volume and proximity to highways, Environmental Science and Technology 4, 231-237 (Mar. 1970). National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 556. Proceedings of TEST PROCEDURES FOR RECYCLED OIL USED AS BURNER FUEL J. J. Come ford Recycled Oil Program Office of Recycled Materials Before moving into my discussion of test procedures, I would like to briefly review some recent history relating to fuel oils. Although the development of the first successful oil well in northwestern Pennsylvania in the summer of 1859 predates the formation of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1901 by several years, the NBS became involved in the fuel oil specifications and tests at an early date [1].' The first general set of fuel oil classifications in the United States was issued by the NBS in 1929. These standards were the first industrywide attempt to classify fuels according to significant properties. These standards, based on a joint conference of consumers, burner manufacturers, and general interest groups held on January 9, 1929, were issued as Commercial Standard (CS) CS 12-29. This standard was revised several times, with the final revision issued in 1948 as CS 12-48 [2], and it remained in effect until 1966, at which time it was withdrawn. As shown in table 1, these specifications are similar to the currently widely used specifications VV-F-815C or to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D 396-76. Changes have occurred since 1948 in distillation temperature, flash point, bottom settlings and water (BS&W), gravity, viscosity, and sulfur. Grade No. 5 has been divided into light and heavy. Carbon residue, pour point, and ash have remained the same. The NBS resumed activity in this area soon after the passage of Public Law 94-163, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, in December 1975. This law is directed toward encouraging the recycling of used oils and reducing the environmental hazards associated with improper disposal of used oils. In section 383, the NBS is directed to develop test procedures which will establish the "substantial equivalency" of recycled oil to virgin oil for all end uses. What we believe is meant by substantial equivalency is that the performance is essentially the same as a virgin oil when measured by a set of identified relevant test parameters. The initial phase of the program is directed at test procedures for recycled oil for use as fuel, grade Nos. 1 through 6. The NBS utilizes its own technical expertise to review existing test procedures. These reviews include consultation and experimental work by the staff of various NBS divisions, as well as the establishment of a special petroleum testing laboratory. For each fuel oil grade we planned the following approach. • Review existing virgin oil test. procedures. • Evaluate test applicability to used oils, recycled oils, and used oil/ virgin oil blends (laboratory program). • Develop new or revised test procedures where needed (laboratory program). Transmit set of approved test procedures for recycled fuel oils to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). • Provide technical support to the FTC. 1 Underlined numbers in brackets indicate the literature references at the end of this report. The law requires. NBS to develop test procedures to demonstrate the substantial equivalency of recycled oils to virgin oils. From a practical point of view, this requires test procedures to demonstrate equivalent performance for each fuel oil grade. Fuel oils fall into two main categories, distillate and residual. The intended general usage of each fuel oil grade is indicated below. Grade No. 3 was not generally accepted and was dropped in 1948 [3]. The consumption by grade under Federal specifications [4] is indicated in table 2 and the total U.S. consumption for 1975 [5] is indicated in Table 3. Distillate oils are commonly used, for example, in residential heating; the residuals are used in power plants or industrial-type installations. It is interesting to note that the average price for No. 2 fuel oil in current dollars increased from $0.15 per gallon in 1955 to $0.41 per gallon in 1976 [5]. The currently accepted specifications for virgin fuel oils are listed below. Most fuel oil purchased for the U.S. Government is under VV-F-815C, which is similar in many respects to ASTM D 396-76. These specifications are summarized in table 4. The numbers in parentheses refer to Celsius temperatures. The Saybolt viscosities have been dropped to simplify the table. Note that "legal" refers to the maximum set by local or regional authorities. Our investigations to date indicate that relatively few changes in the test procedures called for in these specifications should be required in order to accommodate the use of recycled oils as fuel. aConsumption figures for Grade No. 1 were not available. |