Reuse Program Targets 1B Gallons of Waste Oil

Editor's Note: This article has been updated.

Castrol MoreCircular used-oil recycling program includes collecting, re-refining, and repurposing base oil into lubricants to be put back into supply chains. The program launches in May.

Castrol is partnering with Safety-Kleen, an environmental services subsidiary of Clean Harbors Inc., under a multi-year agreement. Andreas Osbar, CEO Castrol Americas says the partership is centered around improving responsibility around oil handling.

Castrol uses the re-refined base oil to blend premium lubricants, resulting in an estimated 20% to 40% lower carbon footprint compared to its traditional products.

"Our strategic partnership means that we can offer responsible, safe and compliant used oil collection from anywhere in the continental USA," said Osbar. "We also share similar principles around quality and customer service which makes for a great fit."

The program combines Castrol’s lubricant technology with Safety-Kleen’s geographic reach and expertise in collecting and re-refining used oil. It is a result of significant investment in research and development aimed at integrating re-refined base oils into lubricant formulations while ensuring that the new product range continues to meet or exceed the latest original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and industry standards.

Successful trials with Castrol business customers demonstrated the high-quality, high-performance attributes of these lower carbon footprint lubricants, which showed the same performance as the version containing virgin base oil, according to Castrol.

"MoreCircular is the result of millions of dollars of investment and several years of research and development to confirm the quality of the RRBO base stock and ensure that the new product range offers the same high quality and performance as our traditional products," said Osbar. "Extensive bench, engine and field testing has demonstrated the performance of RRBO versus virgin base oil in wear, cleanliness, viscosity control, oxidation, and other performance parameters.

"Testing also included field trials with several Castrol business customers prior to launching MoreCircular. For example, the premium heavy duty engine oil range Castrol VECTON proved its excellent performance in over 37,000 hours of field testing. This included a fleet trial with refuse collection trucks doing 900-1200 stops per day. After 1200 hour of testing the MoreCircular Vecton long drain oil proved excellent wear control and oxidation stability with all wear levels remaining significantly below Castrol technical limits."

How Castrol MoreCircular works

The end-to-end offer begins with the collection of used lubricants from fleet maintenance shops and other sites. The used oil is then re-processed, enabling around 70% of it to be recovered as base oil. Castrol uses the re-refined base oil to blend premium lubricants, resulting in an estimated 20% to 40% lower carbon footprint compared to its traditional products, according to the company. Re-refined base oil makes up at least 65% of the base oil in each MoreCircular lubricant; the size of the carbon footprint reduction depends partly on the percentage of RRBO used.

Of the more than one billion gallons of used oil generated annually in the United States, only around 20% are currently re-refined back to base oils, according to Castrol.

"Our customers are searching for levers to help de-carbonize their operations. While fuel economy and electrification play a key role in this transformation, the application of lower-carbon-footprint lubricants can also support sustainability goals," said Osbar. With MoreCircular we provide lower-carbon-footprint lubricants which offer the same high-performance as our traditional products. As a result, MoreCircular can help our customers towards their sustainability goals without having to compromise on lubricant quality."

“We believe the time is right to lead the market with an integrated more circular—and as a result, lower-carbon-footprint—offer as our business customers are searching for levers to help de-carbonize their operations,” he said.

“Safety-Kleen is proud to partner with Castrol, a recognized industry leader, to help to bring increased circularity to the United States lubricants industry,” said Brian Weber, president of Safety-Kleen sustainability solutions, in a statement. “We are North America’s largest collector of used oil with more than 200 branch locations that safely and compliantly collect more than 250 million gallons annually. Our operations span across every major metropolitan area in the U.S. and we can meet the waste oil collection needs of any customer of Castrol’s ‘MoreCircular’ offering.”