Oil Recycling Association            

62 Lower Street, Stansted, Essex, CM24 8LR, United Kingdom.

For FUEL USERS;

MANAGING THE COMBUSTION OF RECOVERED FUEL OIL (RFO)

THE IMPACT OF NEW REGULATION

An Important Communications Message from the Oil Recycling Association

concerning the combustion as a fuel of processed used mineral oil [mainly lubricants] a material commonly referred to as Recovered Fuel Oil or RFO.

Q1. Who is The Oil Recycling Association [ORA] and what does it do?

A1. ORA is a UK Trade Association whose members collect and process for recovery the majority of post use mineral hydrocarbon type oils in the UK. These oils are mostly derived from used lubricating oils but unused fuels and their residues are also managed by our members. This note is not concerned with edible cooking oils, be they of animal or vegetable origin.

Q2. Why Are You Writing to Me?

A2. There are a number of significant changes concerning the combustion of Recovered Fuel Oil (RFO) that create the potential to have a significant impact on your business. If you are an existing user of RFO this situation is very likely to apply to you.

Q3. So what is the New Regulatory regime, what are the main changes and when do they apply?

A3. In most cases the burning of RFO is, or soon will, be subject to the Waste Incineration Directive sometimes called the WID. This Directive is extremely restrictive in its technical content concerning both combustion conditions and attendant emissions. The two major existing outlets for RFO, the coal fired electrical power generating sector and the quarry products / aggregates sector, find great difficulty in meeting the stringent requirements of WID.

Most operators in these businesses are finding that they are unable to comply with the new requirements without incurring new and disproportionate cost. WID legislation is now in force for new users of RFO but it is for existing users that the largest impact occurs when full compliance is required by 28 December 2005.

Users of RFO must apply for an IPPC permit to burn this material before the 31 March 2005, but for those that intend to stop using this fuel after 28 December 2005 some simplified rules are expected to apply. There is a permitting requirement to cover the period 1 April to 28 December 2005. Be sure to contact your local Regulatory authority offices and seek their guidance.

Q4. What is the basis of non conformance under WID when using RFO?

A4. WID defines very specific operating parameters in terms of combustion residence time and temperatures (minimum of 850 ^o C /for at least 2 seconds). It is a [desirable] property of oil that when atomised, oil fuel products burn almost instantaneously while developing very high temperature profiles. WID also incorporates a number of Emission Limit Values (ELV’s) for specified types of combustion application.

Combining these requirements under WID sets a number of barriers that oil products cannot easily meet. Indeed, switching to virgin (new oil) supplies would not resolve the difficulties either, but paradoxically being new materials they do not have to!

Our experience shows the key problems are combustion process dependant and rest within the ELV’s sphere of NOx or Total Organic Carbon [TOC] or Carbon Monoxide [CO] or a combination of these three factors.

Q5. Does this mean I can no longer use RFO?

A5. No, but you must still meet either WID or be exempted or excluded from it and you must be permitted to do so. For most large users of RFO this would mean introducing modified combustion equipment and/or controlling emissions by some other means. ORA does not claim expertise in respect of these combustion issues but to date and for existing users, the economic costs of such modifications and the associated monitoring equipment have been indicated to us as largely prohibitive to all but a few.

Q6. What is the response of many existing users of RFO?

A6. Dividing this answer into two parts:

(a)   Firstly, they are seeking the use of new fuels - in the case of coal co- firing with heavy fuel oils and with aggregate drying, the use of gas oil or gas. These solutions have significant cost implications.

(b)   Secondly, there is a strong belief that in adopting the laws we are facing a nonsensical risk of increasing emissions and furthering the potential for pollution. Government and regulatory offices are therefore being lobbied to change the situation. See also Q10.

Q7. If RFO can no longer be so easily used what will happen to it?

A7. A number of things are forecast. Firstly, RFO can be used as a fuel and meet the legislative requirements of the WID in authorised cement kiln applications. Secondly, it can assist in the steel making process, a non WID activity. However, cement kiln operators have a number of waste derived fuel options which would set a relative market valuation for RFO. Because of the choices open to the cement industry the future value of RFO to them is not expected to be high.

Steel makers also have choices on sources of carbon (a role RFO plays) that is a precursor to making the chemical reducing agents that steel making requires. This industry has an extra benefit in that a complex hydrocarbon duty derogation rule applies. So, RFO would have to be competitive with such other materials and it is expected this would be at a relatively lower value than it enjoys today.

However, because of the cost implications we expect most existing users of RFO to use it for as long as they are legally able to do so without incurring extra cost.

Q8. We have heard that it is acceptable to burn waste oil produced at the site of its generation in a Small Waste Oil Burner and be exempt from the WID –is this the case?

A8. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland the Government is considering whether regulation of these small appliances under local authority auspices (as at present) is delivering proportionate and effective safeguards.

ORA believes they are not sufficiently well regulated and the number involved questions the proportionality issue. In most major EC countries such use is banned and indeed the Scottish Executive has signalled that is their opinion too. The European Commission has historically and quite firmly signalled that such appliances are not exempt. ORA anticipates that use of used oil in these small appliances will shortly be prohibited in England and Wales.

Q9. Is there anything else I need to know?

A9. Yes. Importantly the devolved Governments of the UK will be introducing new Hazardous Waste Regulations in July 2005, but these will vary in nature from country to country. In most areas it is a requirement for hazardous waste producers to register and for some customers of RFO [notably those currently not under IPC or IPPC regulation] new consignment note and waste tracking procedures might have to apply in respect of RFO’s delivery and storage. However, ORA is trying to simplify that process for users who intend ceasing to burn RFO by the 28 December 2005 and for England and Wales we await DEFRA’s guidance on this issue. See also A3.

Additionally, there are penalties for transgression. All these procedures will incur new costs which again cannot be absorbed by the used oil collecting and processing industry. These too will have to be passed on to the markets.

Q10.  Won’t all of this encourage illegal disposal of used oil and if so, do the new requirements make sense?

A10. ORA believes in respect of using RFO and strict adherence to WID, it will lead to more reported oil pollution incidents as unscrupulous waste oil producers seek to avoid cost.

ORA has advised Government that in its view the net benefits to the environment in effectively ceasing to permit the existing RFO users to continue with this fuel, are negative ones. This is because for technical reasons when switching to alternative new fuels (whose combustion is not controlled by WID) certain emissions are actually increased.

Q11. Is ORA therefore against the WID?

A11. Not at all, nor is it against the polluter pays principle. What we see is that in respect of burning used oil under WID an unintended consequence has arisen. This is because pollution will actually increase when switching to certain new fuels and it will be a very long time before new combustion regulations can correct that situation. In the meantime, used oil still has to find a home and in some parts of the country there are either few or no cement or steel works locally available to oblige. ORA believe it better to adopt a solution where market forces have already provided one at no increase in negative impact to the environment.

ORA suggest that Government should advance that point to the European Commission and seek to resolve that matter rather than blindly apply the Directive.

Q12. What Should I be Doing?

A12. Three things:

1. ORA is encouraging the communication of these changes so that there is as smooth a transition as possible starting in the middle of 2005 for Hazardous Waste Issues and in the latter part of 2005 for WID compliance . Please ensure all in the chain of procurement understand the situation and undertake an immediate review of what options and actions are necessary.

2. In England and Wales you should consult with your Regulatory Authority on what permitting process is necessary under IPPC regulations. To continue to burn RFO post 28 December 2005 you will need an IPPC permit and the due ‘window’ date for applications closes on the 31 March 2005.

3. Different rules apply to cover the interim period for continuing to burn RFO from 1 April 2005 to 28 December 2005. In England & Wales an application is still necessary, albeit it is expected a less detailed form will be accepted. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it has been indicated that a more simple declaration of intent will suffice but DO, wherever you are based, consult with your Regulatory Authority.

4. Maintain close contact with your RFO supplier and seek information on the evolving regulatory position.

5. If you believe this situation makes little sense complain to Government, Environment Regulatory Offices, your MP, NGO’s etc.

A Communication Note produced by the ORA aimed at explaining the changes occurring to UK based users of RFO.

March 2005