Impacts of oil to us

Lubricants are used in many types of machinery during the day-to-day operation in various industrial and commercial activities. Used oil is, simply put, any oil that has been refined from crude oil and such use leads physical and/ or chemical contamination. During normal use, Impurities including dirt, metal particles, water, as well as other chemicals may be blended in with the oil, causing diminishing performance. These lubricating oils are classified as a type of chemical waste because it has been proven to have severe adverse impacts on the environment if dispose of improperly.

Chemistry of oil

Petroleum and its related products are made up with hydrocarbons, which are by its name, compounds containing both carbon and hydrogen. The simplest molecule of hydrocarbon is methane, the main component of natural gas. With the extension of additional carbon and hydrogen atoms, longer chains will be formed. In the case of lubricating oils, each molecule contains from 20 to 70 carbon atoms. These molecules are found to be particularly stable and will never be diminished. That is to say, replacing depleted additives within the oil is the key and crucial step to refine the used oil.

Impacts to environment and human health

Numerous toxic substances are found in spent oil, these toxins are uneasy to be degraded once enter the environment. For instance, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in used motor oil have been proven to be a carcinogen. Tiny metal scrapings from the engine compartment such as lead, arsenic, and zinc will also blended into the oils during operations. In addition, exposure to heat during engine combustion will also alter the chemical structures of the oil. Leakages, spillages, or improper handling of lubricating oils will enter the local water bodies unavoidably, through manmade drains or channels to streams, rivers, lakes, underground water tables and even reaching the ocean. At the end of the day, poisoning our drinking water sources and marine animals that we may consume ourselves.

石油對我們的影響

在日常的各種工商業活動中，許多機器在操作過程中都要使用潤滑油。廢油，簡單地說，便是經過從原油提煉的油，而導致物理性和/或化學性的污染。在一般情況下，污染雜質包括污垢、金屬粒子、水以及其他可與油混合的化學品，導致油的性能逐漸減退。若不妥善處理，廢潤滑油將會嚴重破壞環境及生態，亦因此，廢潤滑油一般被列為化學廢物，需要特別處理。 

石油的化學

石油和其相關的產品都是由碳氫化合物所組成，即同時含有碳和氫的化合物。碳氫化合物的基本分子組合為甲烷，即天然氣的主要成分。越多碳原子和氫原子會形成越長的鏈狀。以潤滑油為例，每個分子都含有的二十至七十個碳原子。這些分子都特別穩定，並不會被縮減。亦即是說，只要添加或更換油內用盡的物質，便可把珍貴的石油回用。

對環境和人類健康的影響

廢油內含有大量的有毒物質，一旦進入環境，將不易被降解。比如，車用機油中含有一種碳氫化合物 - 多環芳烴 (PAH)，已被證實是一種致癌物質。在機器的發動過程中，引擎的細小金屬碎屑如鉛、砷、鋅等也會混入油中。而因發動所引起的熱力也會改變油的化學結構。若滲漏、溢出、或處理不當，廢油及其內的有毒物質將會進入水體，經雨水渠、溪流、河流、湖泊、或地下水源，最後流入海洋，污染我們的飲用水源和毒害海洋生物，到最後，受害的可能都會是我們自己。