In 2021, SKF RecondOil commissioned a life cycle analysis (LCA) performed by IVL Swedish Environmental Institute. The LCA compares the environmental impact of the DST regenerated oil to a conventional lubricating oil cycle, where the used oil is discarded rather than recirculated. LCAs investigate the environmental impacts related to a product or a system during its whole life cycle. This includes evaluating energy and resource consumption as well as emissions, from all life cycle stages including material production, manufacturing, use and maintenance, and end-of-life. The LCA of SKF RecondOil Double Separation Technology process results show that the climate footprints of SKF RecondOil DST processes are lower than the footprint of a conventional oil life cycle.
Summary
The SKF RecondOil Double Separation Technology (DST) process enables a longer expected life span of industrial oils by reconditioning and purification of different types of oils. With the aim of mapping and comparing the climate impact of the SKF RecondOil process to a conventional industrial oil cycle, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute has carried out lifecycle-based calculations commissioned by SKF RecondOil AB. Two set-ups of the SKF RecondOil DST process have been included in the LCA: the DST Integrated and the DST Stand-alone. The two DST case studies are based on existing facilities in Airasca, Italy (DST Integrated) and in Schweinfurt, Germany (DST Stand-alone).
The results show that the climate footprints of both SKF RecondOil DST processes are lower than the footprint of a conventional oil life cycle — reinforcing the value of onsite oil treatment. By regenerating oil, less oil needs to be produced and thereby less oil needs to be incinerated. The climate impact of a conventional oil cycle is 3830 kg CO2-eq. per m3 oil, compared to 154 kg CO2-eq. (DST Stand-alone) and 20 kg CO2-eq. (DST Integrated).
The main contributor to the DST Stand-alone process is flushing oil, both production and incineration of said oil. The main contributor to the DST Integrated process is the top-up oil, both production and incineration.
The results also show that the SKF RecondOil DST processes use less fossil resources during the life cycle compared to a conventional oil cycle. By regenerating oil, less fossil resources need to be depleted and thereafter discarded.
The results are linked to some uncertainties which are tested in sensitivity analyses. By alternating different electricity mixes (an average EU mix and electricity from coal-fired power plants) it is possible to conclude that the choice of purchased electricity to SKF facilities has an impact on the total climate footprint. If electricity from fossil sources were to be used instead of electricity from hydropower, the climate footprint will increase by 40 to 50 percent per m3 regenerated oil.
By including the energy recovery perspective, where heat and electricity from incineration of oil were to replace alternative energy sources, the resulting climate impact would decrease for all three scenarios. This does not affect the overall comparison: the conventional oil cycle still has the highest climate footprint out of all three cases.
To read the full LCA please click here.
The article was published on the SKF Knowledge Hub page. To access it, click here.