186 / 222
البحـث الثاني
179
2016
أوابك العلمية لعام
�
ص لبحوث العلمية الفائزة بجائزة
�
عدد خا
مجلة النفط والتعاون العربي
161
العدد
- 2017
أربعون
المجلد الثالث و ال
Re-refining of Used Lubricating Oil and its Economic and Environmental Implications
56
Figure 30 Operating costs for different re-refining technologies
Source: Own elaboration with data from (Audibert, 2006)
7.1.3 Capital costs
Graziano and Daniels (1995) have concluded in their study that the capital costs
associated with re-refining have long been identified as an obstacle to the expansion of
the re-refining industry. For the specific case of Middle East/North Africa region, the
capital costs structure is a mixture of the costs of imported equipment and material
together with local costs such as feedstock, utility and labor. These costs are in general
site specific and usually location factors are used to convert them to local conditions.
The fact that the most important cost factors such as engineering, equipment, skilled
labor, erection, etc., have to be outsourced aggravate the investment cost which is a
strong function of the technology employed. Contrary to what one might think, the
relation between the investment costs and the production capacity is not linear.
Increasing the capacity ensures the economies of scale and costs savings. Figure 31
shows the variation of capital costs versus capacity for a grassroots re-refinery based on
CEP/Mohawk technology described earlier. It also highlights the fact that the relation
between the investment costs and the production capacity is not linear. The higher the
capacity of the plant, the less the capital cost is required per metric ton of used oil
processed. For a 50000 MTPY capacity, the capital costs amount to US$ 40 million.
Doubling the capacity to 100000 MTPY increases the capital costs by only 55%. Just like
in crude oil refining, the economies of scale are an important factor to consider in re-
refining profitability.
54,2%
57,0%
75,5%
0,0%
20,0%
40,0%
60,0%
80,0%
100,0%
Safety Kleen
Sotulub
Revivoil
Fixed costs
Chemicals
Labor
Utilities