Clarification of used lubricating oils by application of chemically-modified clays

Abstract

Abstract Clay is a material that exhibits excellent adsorbent properties which can be applied for the clarification of used motor oils. We describe a comparative analysis between natural and chemically-modified clays as an environmentally sound method of clarification. Previously, a sample of clay was chemically treated with KOH and H2SO4 with a concentration of 2.0 M at 150 °C. Both the natural and chemically-treated samples were characterized using the techniques of XRD, FTIR, SSA, and thermal analysis to observe the structural change after the chemical treatment. These characterizations indicated that there was an increase in surface area and microporous space creation in the acid-treated sample as a result of the clay exfoliation. The acid-treated sample exhibited the potential of clarification of waste oil and high performance relative to the natural sample and the base-treated sample.

Keywords

• clay
• clarifying
• waste lubricant oil