green oil

[kf4anm]

This should throw the great oil debate a curve.

The secret ingredient - leftovers from beef processing plants.

http://www.getg.com/products/products.php?CategoryID=1&ProductID=1

[LoHo]

I tried that oil and put on 15 pounds. Every time my bike warmed up I got hungry...


That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

[Jerry]

My old Audi used mineral-based oil (Pentosin) in the hydraulic steering / brake systems. The technology has been around a while, but the expense had limited its use to specialty niches. The operating temps also limited its use. Maybe now with the price of crude oil getting so high the mineral-based stuff will become more widely distributed and modified for high-temp applications such as engine oil.

[kf4anm]

If we have the power to render motor oil from leftover animal fat waste we certainly have the intelligence to break our dependence on fossil fuel. Its a shame the power of greed trumps all the effort.

[LoHo]

I don't think that greed is the primary factor. If it were, someone would be getting rich from green oil. I think convenience and availablity are more likely. When dino is too scarce and too expensive, we'll move on to something else.

[Jerry]

Actually, dino juice doesn't wear out...the additives get used up. You also get contaminants in the oil, which is why it turns black, but the base lubrication properties last far longer than 3K miles. Thats why BMW, and maybe others, are experimenting with oil change sensors in their cars....change oil only when needed based on the condition of the oil instead of using a fixed schedule.

If someone could come up with an efficient (cost effective) way of re-refining used oil, clean it up and replenish the additives, we could get extra mileage out of dino juice.

Here is an excerpt from a white paper that touches on the subject:

Used oil is any petroleum-based or synthetic oil that has been used and as a result is contaminated by physical or chemical impurities. This oil comes from many sources, including cars, tractors, lawnmowers, and other machines
with internal combustion engines. Most people are unaware that oil does not wear out, but it does become contaminated by impurities such as heavy metals, sulfur, water, dirt, iron, steel, and toxic substances.

<snip>

Another option is rerefining the oil to be reused as an automotive or industrial lubricant. During this process, hazardous materials are separated from the oil and sent to the proper hazardous waste facilities.
The main products of rerefining are diesel fuel, high and low quality lubricants, and heavy fuel oils. About 65 percent of the used oil can be rerefined to have an identical composition as newly refined oil. The remaining oil and waste byproduct can be used as a fuel oil or asphalt extender. It takes 42 gallons of crude oil to get the same amount of lubricating oil that can be obtained by rerefining one gallon of used oil. In addition, rerefining uses only one-third of the energy as refining new oil, and this process allows the oil to be recycled many times without losing its lubricating quality.

Entire white paper can be found here:

http://www.age.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/c/C21.pdf

Another brief into to rerefining:

http://www.mines.edu/stu_life/organ/earth/autoflfl.html

(Note: Not all the links in the article work.)

Finally, for some interesting numbers, look at thisl link from Living Green: http://www.statesman.com/green/conte...motor_oil.html

There is re-used oil in our future, more so than in the past.

[Pat Kelly]

When I was wrenching in the late 70's/early 80's a truck would come around and buy the used oil from oil changes. It would be cleaned and magic words were spoken and it would be resold as 'reclaimated oil'.
Now-a-days you pay for the used oil to be hauled as hazardous waste.