Applicability of Waste Engine Oil for the Direct Production of Electricity

Paweł P. Włodarczyk and Barbara Włodarczyk
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Paweł P. Włodarczyk: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, University of Opole, ul. Kominka 6a, 45-032 Opole, Poland
Barbara Włodarczyk: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, University of Opole, ul. Kominka 6a, 45-032 Opole, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: New methods for the use of waste products as input for other technologies are a constant subject of research efforts. One such product is waste engine oil. Due to the constantly increasing number of motor vehicles in the world, the recycling or application of engine oils for energy production purposes is currently of considerable importance. This paper contains research regarding the analysis of the electro-oxidation potential of waste engine oil, and thus the possibility of using such oil as a material in fuel cells. The research demonstrates the basic possibility of the electro-oxidation of this oil emulsion on a platinum electrode in an acid electrolyte (aqueous solution of H 2 SO 4 ). It was shown that in the temperature range of 20–80 °C, the electro-oxidation of the waste engine oil emulsion occurred for all emulsion concentrations (0.005%, 0.010%, 0.030%, and 0.060% of the reactor volume). The maximum current density obtained in the measurements was 21 mA·cm −2 at the temperature of 60 °C (0.030% waste oil and 0.5 M electrolyte). Although this value is small, it encourages further research on the use of used engine oil for the direct generation of electricity.

Keywords: waste engine oil; electricity production; environmental engineering; use of by-product; fuel cell (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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