Waste Oil Refined

[toocrazy2yoo]

This goes along with the other thread, I suppose, but I'm curious.

So, you're gathering a lot of waste/old motor oil, a high percentage of it synthetic no doubt (say, the collection points of Advance Auto and AZ).

Yeah, it's "old"/used oil, but isn't old motor oil a LOT cleaner, even after 3-10K, than the crude from which it was refined to begin with? And, wouldn't THAT make a great base oil to refine and formulate into a Super Synthetic for pretty cheap? Why don't we see more of this here?

Or is this already going on?

 

[Steve S]

Most of the oil is burned .

 

[Ray H]

To some degree it is already going on, but more needs to be done. Filtered, used motor oil responds at least as favorably to hydrocracking as do the middle distillates out of virgin crude. A number of state governments have mandated the use of re-refined petroleum products when available for state government fleet vehicle maintenance for several years. Ironically such stoke-the-fire "green" legislation may work against getting these fully formulated motor oils based on re-refined base oils into the hands of consumers. It also doesn't help that too much of what used oil is harvested from service shops and conscientious do-it-yourselfers ends up as boiler fuel as mentioned above.

 

[toocrazy2yoo]

Quote:

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Ironically such stoke-the-fire "green" legislation may work against getting these fully formulated motor oils based on re-refined base oils out of the hands of consumers.

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Why? I mean, assuming the consumers (self oci-types like us and garages of any stripe that change oil) are doing the right thing with our oil and dumping it at a re-cycler, isn't that getting it out of the hands of the consumer?

What are they doing with it at say, an AA, or a KMART or WalMart that does OCI? Surely not burning it?

 

[Cujet]

I know for a fact that dump trucks around here burn used motor oil as a percentage of their fuel. You can smell it.

There is also a way to process used motor oil into number 2 diesel via a simple cracking tower.

Chris

 

[Ray H]

You beat me before I found my error and edited it to "into", you fast rascal, you!

 

[alreadygone]

Yes, as mentioned most is recalimed as heating fuel. Main reason such a small percentage is actually re-refned is even the average consumer WILL NOT put that "junk" in their ride (much less the sort of folks who frequent boards like this!)

Oil that is returned to lubricating quality is almost all used in bulk by gov. agencys(as previously mentioned),mining, rail, trucking, and marine industries. Similar industrial concerns where product specifications and price are more important than "only the best for my ride".

Really comes down to fact that average joe wouldn't use that $#i+ if someone was giving it to him!

Bob

May be I'm naive, but between gov regs , value of material, and scocial climate I've felt that huge percentage of used oil has been responsibly disposed of for many years.

 

[Oil Changer]

I don't know about you guys or what the signs say at the turn-in point but my used oil container also has antifreeze, brake fluid, gear dope...

 

[daman]

Years ago wal-mart had Refined oil, it was like $.20 or .30
cents a qt. no one bought it they pulled it from the shelves.

 

[alreadygone]

Oil Changer,

Where do you think those products came form originally? If they can be separated from each other as virgin crude, what of earth make you think it can't be done again?

Bob

 

[Vilan]

Safety-Kleen makes re-refined oil. They sell it under various brand names.

I also don't understand why we don't see more of it. How can someone complain "Ewww, made from used oil" when most motor oils are made from crude oil, which is way more unpleasant?

 

[Curious Kid]

As for anyone passing on re-refined oil, well I think "reasoning" is rooted in one's mind - "Used oil bad. New oil good." And then there's those who perfer PAO or esters like redline - nothing "pure" in re-refined...unless it's distilled, cracked, reacted, etc. like crude in the developement of such thypes as just mentioned. Trouble is, not all base oils are derived from crude "shrug".

I must admit though, even I in my kick for wanting the best for my engine, I didn't entertain the notion of using such oil. Now though, looking back over the specs, listening to what some have said here, honestly looking at just what I put the engine through and how little I can realy judge how the oil's performing...such a products use seems much less remote...as long as meeting or exceeding manufacturer's spec. How one might go about actual treatment of the engine throughout operation might weight more heavily on the outcome, especially as performances narrow between the lots.

 

[Curious Kid]

Continuing the first paragraph-

I would think that all of us are familiar with used oil and all it's potential appearences, while few have actual handling of crude - yes there's the photos of the black syrupy pools and spills, but for having handled it so intimately as a processed qt??? That kind of closeness I feel is more believeable than just pics, and then there's the marketing to go along with it - put the right spin on it and one could very well sell just about anything!

 

[bruce381]

hydro treated re refined is about a GPII and is used in many more PCMO's than most people realize and it will make a good GF-4.
bruce

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

We have been using 76 Firehawk re-refined oil for several years now. Several thousand gallons year and counting. We are getting every bit of good service from this oil as the first run oil we were using before. We have not altered our drain intervals much since then, in fact I believe we have lengthened them significantly after the last of our 2 strokes were pulled out of service.

 

[Curious Kid]

Bruce - I'm WAY out of the loop but I have a sense you're right...and somehow this isn't readily know. Hmmm, I wonder why??? Any description costs $$$ I suppose, so only give what would prove most useful to the user??? Could a company increase profits by utilizing such re-refined stocks and boost it with otherwise prime stocks or that which is otherwise more exotic, to get what was likely a grandious prime stock to begin with? - sounds like a reformulation...and one might just have a product similar enough to continue marketing it as the previous product line (drifting thoughts of mobil 1 discussions).

Could re-refined oil be even better quality than fresh refined stock, if processed in like manor thus having increased the effective efficiency with any reactive processes? If so and do to the increased refining vestment in the lube over it's whole existence, couldn't one consider it more likely though perhaps a strech none-the-less to call such stock a "synthetic" as allowable in the US? Also consider possible pressures from outside the industry to rely less on foreign sources of oil, and how inclusion of re-refined oil might help to do so being that such a resource is readily availible? Just a bunch of thoughts mind you - a series of "what if's."

 

[Curious Kid]

1040 WreckerMan - thanks for sharing your experience with us. Any reports to help bring it home to the less convinced?

 

[tigrpal]

This looks like a helpful site for info on rerefined oil. Rerefined Oil

 

[harthamm]

Where can re-refined oil be bought in the US? Is supertech re-refined?

 

[Bryanccfshr]

I have suspected this for sometime and have no issues with the mainstream marketing of Re-refined basestocks being sold as a commodity to all blenders. It is better than burning it, which I veiw as a waste.