A polish watching the correct management of the oils used

Since, and following the doctrine of the European Union on waste, applies for the oils used the principle of responsibility of the producer, entered in the Law 10/1998, of Waste, and according to which the manufacturers have to assume obligations for the correct management of the waste that generate after the use or consumption of the products that put in the market, happening to substitute, therefore, to the public finance realised through the Ministry of Environment.

Like this, from 1 January 2007 are the managers to put the put in the market of industrial oils or products that contain them those who have to guarantee that the oils used are properly collected and treaties. The big majority of these operators find associated at present to Sigaus (Integrated System of Management of Oils Used), the SIG leader in Spain in the management of this residue.

In Sigaus participate no only the big companies of the sector of the oil and the lubricantes, many of which are partners founders, but other a lot of companies that have obligations with regard to the oils used industrial that commercialise and that belong to multiple sectors of activity. Between them, companies manufacturers of vehicles and components for the automotive sector, big surfaces, companies of the area of the machinery, the industrial equipment, the electrical sector or a good number of networks of repair of trucks. All they are responsible to put in the national market industrial oils or products with oil, and fulfil the correct management of the oils used by means of his adhesion to Sigaus.

In his group, Sigaus, like company managing entity of the SIG of oils used, represented in 2010 to near of 160 companies and 350 distinct marks that commercialised 321.304 tonnes of industrial oils, invoiceing 19,3 million euros. By each kg of oil put in the market, the responsible company credits to Sigaus 0,06 , contribution that allocates entirely to the management of the residue, confirming the lack of spirit of lucre of the company, compulsory legally.

Sigaus No only articulates a mechanism to fund the management of the oil used, by means of the contributions of the manufacturers and importing, but also a procedure of management that guarantees that the residue will be collected there where generate and anyway treated according to the law. For this, the SIG works with a wide network of managing companies of oils used, with which keeps signed agreements or agreements of collaboration. It treats of a network that has not left to grow in these years, and that adds already 50 agreements with agents and 56 agreements of collected free with agents and that represent 144 permissions of CC AA.

In this sense, and taking into account that it began to work existing already a sector consolidated where operated a good number of companies of collected and management of the oil used, the basic premise in the integration of Sigaus in the sector of the management was his consolidation by means of the opening to the maximum number of operators and the no interference in the free existent market, whenever this allow to fulfil the aims of recovery and recycled taxles legally.

Today day, the network of management that acts under the umbrella of Sigaus allows to guarantee the collected free of the residue in all the national territory (doing effective the principle of universality of the service that adopted Sigaus from his set up) and ensuring a final management no only adapted from the environmental point of view but also efficient in the economic.

The value added of the SIG

5 years after the introduction of the new mechanism in the management of the industrial oil used, the data show that the introduction existence of the integrated system of management no only has revealed like an effective system but it contributes an important value added in shape of additional guarantee with regard to the collected and treatment of this residue.

With the implantation of the SIG, the manufacturers of industrial oils have of a simple and effective mechanism for the fulfillment of the law, the sector of the management enjoys of a greater juridical security and economic, and the producers of oils used have of the service of collected of the residue. All this with the final guarantee, for administrations and consumers, that the oil used no impactará on the environment, thanks to the control that effects Sigaus on the operations declared by manufacturers and agents, and to the work of information that pipes to all the agents involucrados in the SIG, vertebrates now around Sigaus.

Management and control, on the one hand, and information, by another, convert like this in the two essential functions of the company in what that managing entity of the SIG, and in two strategic elements for his operation.

To operative level, can affirm that the oil used (at least the oil generated by the companies adhered to Sigaus, that represent 90% of the market) collects in his whole in Spain, and to all this volume gives him a treatment no only legally exigible but environmentally responsible, extracting of the residue the maximum aprovechamiento possible, already was in terms of prime matters or energy.

From 2007 through Sigaus have recovered 650.234 tonnes of oils used, registering more than 200.000 operations of distinct management, controlled and funded by the SIG. The whole of the residue recovered was 100% valorizado and allocated to the distinct processes of treatment, fundamentally two: regeneration and energetic valorisation.

Fulfilling with the priority established by the law, treated by means of regeneration 433.084 tonnes of oils used in this period, two third parts of the historical total managed. As it has aimed , by means of the regeneration obtain of the residue basic oils for the manufacture of new lubricantes, process that contributes to a remarkable saving of prime matters, like the oil, in the production of new oils. With the regeneration of 3 litres of oil used obtain 2 litres of base lubricante, whereas to obtain this same quantity in a process of first refining of the oil would need more than 130 litres of raw oil. Besides, it estimates that the regeneration has favourable effects in the fight against the climatic change, since by each tonne of oil used regenerated avoids the broadcast of 3 tonnes of CO₂ to the atmosphere. Following this proportion, the volume of residue regenerated from the set up of Sigaus would have avoided the broadcast of 1,3 million tonnes of CO₂, equivalent to the quantity that would absorb, in a year, 245.000 hectares of arbolado.

The another viable treatment at present in Spain is the energetic valorisation, process in which they delete the heavy metals and other sediments of the residue and separate the aqueous part of the oleosa for the use of this last like fuel, useful in a lot of types of industries like cementeras, yeseras or factories of asphalts…, whose processes require to use ovens working to high temperatures and with an important energetic expense. From the operation of Sigaus 214.961 t allocated to this treatment. In terms of equivalent energy, would have produced 2.330 GWh, equivalent quantity to the annual consumption of 583.000 Spanish homes of half level.

New lives for the oil used

Sigaus avoids every year the pollution closely of 200.000 tonnes of pertinent used oil of workshops of automotion and industrial installations. Around 70% of these oils used are treated to turn into them new bases lubricantes, 30% remaining is taken advantage of like industrial fuel or recycled to produce new products.

Give a new use to this waste that minimise his dangerousness is a responsibility for with the society and the environment. Through his management, the System no only avoids the pollution, but besides it awards a new value to the oil used through a process that allows to solve his nature contaminante.

Once withdrawn of the points of generation, where has to have been stored and labelled according to the valid rule, is sent to centres of temporary storage or centres of transfer in which they realise the necessary analyses to determine his composition, the possible pollution with other substances and his optimum final destination.

After the study, the oil used moves to the distinct types of installations or plants of treatment, depending on his possible final destination. Sigaus Answers like this to the ecological needs and to the rule that, to these effects, establishes an order of priorities for the management of oils used through the distinct processes as they are the regeneration, the recycled and the valorisation.

Thanks to these processes of management, the saving of prime matters and energy is considerable, taking into account that it estimates that with 3 litres of oil used allocated to regeneration obtain 2 litres of new oil, whereas for the same quantity of oil from the oil would require 130 litres of crude, with the consequent decrease of oil imports.