INFLUENCE OF WASTE ENGINE OIL ON BITUMEN USING

DIFFERENT TESTS

CHAPTER 1

1.1 BACKGROUND

Waste engine oil is typically petroleum and is often typically contaminated by impurities during physical

and/or chemical processes. As a result, the oil is no longer suitable for its original purpose and needs to be

replaced by virgin or re-refined oil. The waste engine oil consists of non-degradable components that are

hard to be decomposed (Vazquez-Duhalt 1989). If improperly disposed, the pollution of used engine oil

may cause irreparable damage to the environment. During engine operation, heavy metals including lead,

zinc, calcium, and magnesium gradually accumulate in the engine oil DeDene at el. (2011). These metals

are proven to cause groundwater and soil contamination permanently when dumped into the ground or

into water streams. VazquezDuhalt (1989) summarized the concentration of heavy metals in used motor

oil from the previous studies. Waste engine oil contains higher percentages of polycyclic aromatic

hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are very dangerous to health (Hewstone 1994). Although the concentration

of these pollutants varied from different sources and engines presents the basic information of these

hazards in used motor oil which reflected the possible environmental impact of these waste. Due to the

hazard of these heavy metals, the disposal of waste engine oil should strictly be in accordance with

specified protocols. A common and convenient way to dispose engine oil is to use it as a fuel. The U.S.

DOE estimated that 83% of waste engine oil is burned in a total of 945 million gallons of investigated

recycled used oil (U.S. DOE 2006).

As a petroleum-based product, waste engine oil has similar molecular structures as asphalt binder or

Bitumen (DeDene 2011). Some researchers investigated the potentials of applying waste oil as a modifier

for Bitumen Villanueva et al. (2008). H. F. Moore, et al., “Process for recovering lube oil basestocks
from used motor oil formulations, asphalt blend compositions containing used motor oil bottoms from

said process, and asphalt pavement compositions containing said asphalt blend compositions. Some

studies reported the changes in physical and indicated that inclusion of waste oil will significantly soften

asphalt, resulting in decreasing G*/= sin δ (terms discussed in subsequent sections; DeDene 2011),

softening point, and increasing penetration (Villanueva et al. 2008). It was reported that asphalt binder

may fail to pass criterion of the bending beam rheometer (BBR) test, thus compromising the low

temperature performance of asphalt binder (Hesp and Shurvell 2010). A field investigation indicated that

asphalt pavement containing 5–20% waste oil in the binder exhibited higher levels of pavement distress

(Hesp and Shurvell 2010).

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Recent societal and economic developments have resulted in an annual increase in the total

mileage of highways in Pakistan. Less than 10 years after construction or operation, many

asphalt pavements required different degrees of maintenance due to the different damages

sustained during their service lives. This in turn led to the generation of large quantities of

reclaimed Bitumen pavement materials Chen at el. (2014). Asphalt or bitumen pavement

maintenance was facing the problems of disposal of waste asphalt concrete. The continued use of

nonrenewable sources caused environmental pollution as a result of improper waste disposal

Butt, Giani at el (2015). Therefore, the recycling technology of waste asphalt pavement is

becoming more and more attractive from the perspective of energy and environmental protection

in the world Sadeeq, Arimilli at el. (2016).

1.2.1 Problem Solution

This research aims to study the feasibility of using waste engine oil as a recycling agent to

improve the recyclability of pavements containing Bitumen. Different testing such as Penetration
test, Softening, Ductility, SP gravity, Flash and Loss on heating was conducted in various

phases. Penetration test of Bitumen determines the hardness or softness of bitumen by measuring

the depth in millimeter to which a standard loaded needle will penetrate vertically in five seconds

while the temperature of the bitumen sample is maintained at 25 C. Softening Point test of

bitumen can determined through the use of a ring-and-ball apparatus immersed in distilled water

(30 to 80°C) or USP glycerin (above 80 to 157°C). Ductility test of Bitumen is a measure of

elasticity or adhesiveness of bitumen. Ductility of Bitumen is expressed as the distance in

centimeters to which a standard briquette of bitumen can be stretched before the thread breaks.

Specific Gravity test ratio of the mass of a given volume of the material at 25 °C to that of an

equal volume of water at the same temperature. Lastly, when the bitumen is heated, water

content present in the bitumen is evaporated and bitumen becomes brittle which can be damaged

easily. So, to know the amount of loss ness we will perform this test. In this test, take the

bitumen sample and note down its weight to 0.01gm accuracy at room temperature. These tests

lend evidence to support the claim that waste engine oil can be used as a rejuvenating agent to

chemically restore asphalt pavements containing RAP. Waste engine oil can reduce the stiffness

and improve the low temperature properties of asphalt binders blended with RAB. Waste engine

oil can also soften asphalt pavements without having a detrimental effect on the moisture

susceptibility.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES:

Primary aim is to find out the influence of waste engine oil on bitumen using various tests.

 To investigate the waste engine oil as a recycling agent to improve the recyclability of

pavements containing Bitumen.

Softening, Ductility, SP gravity, Flash and Loss on heating.

 To make the authorities aware of the influence of waste engine oil on bitumen so that

they can work on improving the quality of bitumen.

1.4 SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of research is to study the influence of waste engine oil on bitumen using different

tests to investigate the performance of Bitumen by performing penetration test, softening,

ductility, specific gravity, Flash and Loss on heating test.

The good applicability would provide waste engine oil a much wider service range in bitumen

pavement recycling field. It also provided a method of developing new rejuvenating agent with

the vast available waste engine oil to achieve complex synergism effect. Moreover, it realized the

waste cyclic utilization and environmental protection.

References

Vazquez-Duhalt, R. (1989). “Environmental impact of used motor oil.” Sci. Total Environ., 79(1), 1–23.

DeDene, C. D. (2011). “Investigation of using waste engine oil blended with reclaimed asphalt materials

to improve pavement recyclability.” M.S. thesis, Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI

Hewstone, R. (1994). “Health, safety and environmental aspects of used crankcase lubricating oils.” Sci.

Total Environ., 156(3), 255–268.

U.S. DOE. (2006). Used oil re-refining study to address Energy Policy Act of 2005, Section 1838,

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Villanueva, A., Ho, S., and Zanzotto, L. (2008). “Asphalt modification with used lubricating oil.” Can. J.

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