ASTM D6823 Specification for Commercial Boiler Fuels with Used Lubricating Oils
1. Scope
1.1 This specification covers four grades of fuel oil made of at least 25 % used lubricating oils. The four grades of fuel are intended for use in various types of fuel-oil-burning industrial equipment and commercial boilers under various climatic and operating conditions. These fuels are not intended for use in residential heaters.
1.1.1 Grades RFC4, RFC5L, RFC5H and RFC6 are used lubricating oil blends of increasing viscosity, with or without middle distillate or residual fuel oil, or both, that are intended for use in industrial burners and commercial boilers equipped to handle these types of fuels. This specification is for applications where Specification D6448 would not meet the performance or other requirements of the burner or boiler in question.

NOTE 1 - For information on the significance of the terminology and test methods used in this specification, see Appendix X1.

1.2 This specification is for use in contracts for the purchase of fuel oils derived from used lubricating oil and for the guidance of consumers of such fuels. This specification does not address the frequency with which any particular test must be run.

1.3 Nothing in this specification shall preclude observance of national or local regulations which can be more restrictive. In some jurisdictions, used oil is considered a hazardous waste and fuels derived from used oil are required to meet certain criteria before use as a fuel.

NOTE 2 - For United States federal requirements imposed on used oil generators, transporters and transfer facilities, reprocessors, marketers, and burners, see 40 CFR Part 279.

NOTE 3 - The generation and dissipation of static electricity can create problems in the handling of distillate burner fuel oils. For more information on the subject, see Guide D4865.

1.4 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
1.4.1 Exception - Table 1 and Table X1.1 include inch-pound values in parentheses for information only.

2. Referenced Documents
2.1 ASTM Standards:
D56 Test Method for Flash Point by Tag Closed Cup Tester
D93 Test Methods for Flash Point by Pensky-Martens Closed Cup Tester
D95 Test Method for Water in Petroleum Products and Bituminous Materials by Distillation
D97 Test Method for Pour Point of Petroleum Products
D129 Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products (General Bomb Method)
D240 Test Method for Heat of Combustion of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels by Bomb Calorimeter
D396 Specification for Fuel Oils
D445 Test Method for Kinematic Viscosity of Transparent and Opaque Liquids (and Calculation of Dynamic Viscosity)
D473 Test Method for Sediment in Crude Oils and Fuel Oils by the Extraction Method
D482 Test Method for Ash from Petroleum Products
D664 Test Method for Acid Number of Petroleum Products by Potentiometric Titration
D974 Test Method for Acid and Base Number by Color-Indicator Titration
D1266 Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products (Lamp Method)
D1298 Test Method for Density, Relative Density (Specific Gravity), or API Gravity of Crude Petroleum and Liquid Petroleum Products by Hydrometer Method
D1552 Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products (High-Temperature Method)
D1796 Test Method for Water and Sediment in Fuel Oils by the Centrifuge Method (Laboratory Procedure)
D2622 Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum Products by Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry
D2983 Test Method for Low-Temperature Viscosity of Lubricants Measured by Brookfield Viscometer
D3228 Test Method for Total Nitrogen in Lubricating Oils and Fuel Oils by Modified Kjeldahl Method
D3245 Test Method for Pumpability of Industrial Fuel Oils
D3828 Test Methods for Flash Point by Small Scale Closed Cup Tester
D4052 Test Method for Density and Relative Density of Liquids by Digital Density Meter
D4057 Practice for Manual Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Products
D4175 Terminology Relating to Petroleum, Petroleum Products, and Lubricants
D4177 Practice for Automatic Sampling of Petroleum and Petroleum Products
D4294 Test Method for Sulfur in Petroleum and Petroleum Products by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry
D4629 Test Method for Trace Nitrogen in Liquid Petroleum Hydrocarbons by Syringe/Inlet Oxidative Combustion and Chemiluminescence Detection
D4865 Guide for Generation and Dissipation of Static Electricity in Petroleum Fuel Systems
D4868 Test Method for Estimation of Net and Gross Heat of Combustion of Burner and Diesel Fuels
D5185 Test Method for Determination of Additive Elements, Wear Metals, and Contaminants in Used Lubricating Oils and Determination of Selected Elements in Base Oils by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES)
D5291 Test Methods for Instrumental Determination of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen in Petroleum Products and Lubricants
D5384 Test Methods for Chlorine in Used Petroleum Products (Field Test Kit Method)
D5854 Practice for Mixing and Handling of Liquid Samples of Petroleum and Petroleum Products
D6160 Test Method for Determination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Waste Materials by Gas Chromatography
D6448 Specification for Industrial Burner Fuels from Used Lubricating Oils
D6450 Test Method for Flash Point by Continuously Closed Cup (CCCFP) Tester
D7042 Test Method for Dynamic Viscosity and Density of Liquids by Stabinger Viscometer (and the Calculation of Kinematic Viscosity)

2.2 ISO Standard:
ISO 8217 Petroleum Products-Fuel (Class F)-Specifications for Marine Fuels

2.3 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations:
40 CFR Part 761 Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Manufacturing, Processing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use Prohibitions
40 CFR Part 279 Standards for the Management of Used Oil

2.4 US EPA Standards:
SW-846 Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Wastes Physical/Chemical Methods
SW-846 5050 Bomb Preparation Method for Solid Waste
SW-846 6010 Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry
SW-846 9056A Determination of Inorganic Anions by Ion Chromatography
SW-846 9075 Test Method for Total Chlorine in New and Used Petroleum Products by X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF)
SW-846 9076 Test Method for Total Chlorine in New and Used Petroleum Products by Oxidative Combustion and Microcoulometry
SW-846 9077 Test Methods for Total Chlorine in New and Used Petroleum Products (Field Test Kit Methods)

3. Terminology
3.1 For definitions of other terms used in this specification, refer to Terminology D4175.

3.2 Definitions:
3.2.1 burner fuel oil, n - any petroleum liquid suitable for the generation of heat by combustion in a furnace or firebox as a vapor or a spray, or a combination of both.
3.2.1.1 Discussion - Different grades are characterized primarily by viscosity ranges.

3.2.2 reclaiming, n - the use of cleaning methods during recycling primarily to remove insoluble contaminants, thus making the oil suitable for further use. The methods may include settling, heating, dehydration, filtration, and centrifuging.

3.2.3 recycling, n - in petroleum technology, the acquisition of oil that has become unsuitable for its intended use, and processing it in order to regain useful materials.

3.2.4 re-refining, n - the use of refining processes during recycling to produce high quality base stocks for lubricants or other petroleum products. Re-refining may include distillation, hydrotreating, or treatments employing acid, caustic, solvent, clay, or both, or other chemicals, or a combination thereof.

3.2.5 used oil, n - in petroleum product recycling, oil whose characteristics have changed since being originally manufactured, and which is suitable for recycling.

3.2.6 waste oil, n - in petroleum technology, oil having characteristics making it unsuitable either for further use or for economic recycling.

3.3 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
3.3.1 commercial boiler, n - indirect heating units which transfer thermal energy to water or other fluids or gases for use in heating and having a heat input between 0.3 to 10 x 10(6) BTU/h.

3.3.2 industrial burner, n - a device which produces heat for industrial use through the combustion of liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
3.3.2.1 Discussion - Industrial burners are typically designed for one of two applications: (1) industrial furnaces - integral components of manufacturing processes that provide direct heating; for example, in aggregate, cement, lime, or phosphate kilns; coke ovens; or blast, smelting, melting, refining, or drying ovens and (2) industrial boilers - large indirect heating units which transfer thermal energy to water or other fluids or gases for use in heating in industrial settings and in manufacturing processes. These boilers can be classified as utility/large industrial boilers with a heat input greater than 100 x 10(6) BTU/h or small industrial boilers with a heat input of between 10 to 100 x 10(6) BTU/h.

3.3.3 reprocessing, n - in petroleum product recycling, the preparation of used oil to be suitable as a fuel.
3.3.3.1 Discussion - Reprocessing includes procedures such as settling, filtration, blending, distillation, or chemical treatment.

3.4 Acronyms:
3.4.1 ISO - International Organization for Standardization.

3.4.2 RCRA - Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (United States).

3.4.3 US EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency.

3.5 Abbreviations:
3.5.1 CFR - Code of Federal Regulations.

3.5.2 IAW - in accordance with.

3.5.3 RFC4 - recycled fuel, commercial boilers, grade number 4.

3.5.4 RFC5L - recycled fuel, commercial boilers, grade number 5 light.

3.5.5 RFC5H - recycled fuel, commercial boilers, grade number 5 heavy.

3.5.6 RFC6 - recycled fuel, commercial boilers, grade number 6.

3.5.7 SW - solid waste, SW-846 is US EPA Office of Solid Waste's official compendium of analytical and sampling methods for use in complying with the RCRA regulations.