We all know that we are supposed to change the oil in our cars, but other than natural or synthetic, most people don’t generally think much about what oil goes in or comes out. Re-refined oil is engine lubricant that is what it sounds like — used oil that has been re-refined for reuse. How exactly is re-refined oil made, and is it safe for use inside your car?
The process of re-refining oil
Oil from petroleum doesn’t wear out. Instead, it gets dirty. The additives within the oil wear out. Used motor oil is re-refined the same way as crude oil. The oil is cleaned, refined and re-blended with additives to create a product that is the exact same and created with crude oil.
Make certain your re-manufactured oil is approved
Although it is safe, you should take some precautions. Make sure the re-refined oil you or your mechanic are using is American Petroleum Institute approved. Usually API approved oil could be required. API approved oil has also undergone stringent testing requirements that ensure it does what it is intended to. It needs to be API approved whether re-refined or not. If you use a quick-lube service, check with them that they are using API approved oil, re-refined or not.
Re-refined oil benefits
re-refined motor oil can do a lot more than lubricate your engine. Used motor oil is considered a toxic waste, and is typically disposed of in a variety of ways. Re-refining oil helps to make a closed-loop system, where the nonrenewable resource of oil is continuously re-used. A gallon of used motor oil creates 2.5 quarts of re-refined oil. The byproducts are used to power re-refining plants and create asphalt roof shingles. If all motor oil within the United States was re-refined, there would be enough recycled oil to maintain about 8 million cars per year.
