Improvements in the Finishing Process of a Lubricant Base from a Motor Used Oil Refinery

Authors

Leon-Gonzalez, Irina

Gonzalez, Yris

Perez, Sergio

Abstract

This work presents the development of treatments for the finishing process of a lubricating base obtained in an industrial process by vacuum distillations, and that currently presents undesirable characteristics in relation to color and smell. A change in the adsorbent filter material, from attapulgite to silica gel, was evaluated as an alternative treatment to the one used, then a previous chemical treatment with concentrated sulfuric acid in a proportion of 1% w / w and filtration with silica gel was considered, and finally, the chemical treatment with sulfuric acid followed by extraction with anhydrous ethanol was evaluated. De the treatments evaluated, the chemical treatment with acid and subsequent extraction with ethanol allow to achieving quality parameters higher than that of a commercial base used as a reference