SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(OS-305)
EPA/530-SW-91-043
June 1991
Office of Solid Waste
Environmental
Fact Sheet
EPA Guideline for Purchasing
Re-Refined Lubricating Oil
Re-refined oils are used
lubricating oils that have
been cleaned through a
refining process. Like
virgin oils, they are mixed
with an appropriate pack-
age of additives to produce
a desired performance.
Performance of
Re-refined Oil
EPA reviewed studies of
re-refined oil conducted by
the National Bureau of
Standards, the Army, the
Department of Energy, and
others. These studies con-
cluded that re-refined oils
perform as well as virgin
oils. The National Bureau
of Standards concluded that
laboratory and field testing
of re-refined oils is sufficient
to demonstrate that they can
meet the prescribed test
limits, are substantially
equivalent to virgin oils,
and, for some parameters,
perform better than virgin
oils.
Procurement Guideline
To increase the use of
re-refined oil within both
government and private
sectors, on June 30, 1988,
EPA issued a guideline for
purchasing lubricating oils
containing re-refined oil. All
federal agencies and all
state and local government
agencies and contractors
that use federal funds to
purchase such products are
required to implement a
preference program favoring
the purchase of re-refined oil
to the maximum extent
practicable.
Procuring agents should
not require lubricating oils
containing re-refined oil to
meet any performance stan-
dard higher than that re-
quired of virgin lubricating
oils.
API Specifications
In general, engine oils
are purchased using mili-
tary specifications or the
engine service classification
system developed by the
American Petroleum Insti-
tute (API). The API service
level is specified in the
owner's manual of a vehicle.
It generally consists of two
letters, such as SF or SG for
gasoline engines or CC, CD,
CD-II, or CE for diesel
engines. These letters are a
shorthand describing the
required properties of the
engine lubricating oil suit-
able for a particular vehicle.
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Oils meeting the API
levels generally are pack-
aged in containers bear-
ing the API-licensed logo.
The logo consists of two
concentric circles with
the API service level
identified in the space
between the circles.
Military Specifications
To meet the military
specifications or the API
service levels, lubricating
oil, whether virgin or re-
refined, must pass certain
testing programs. Oil meet-
ing the military specifica-
tions also meets the API
service levels, but not vice-
versa. A Qualified Products
List of oil meeting the mili-
tary specifications is main-
tained by the U.S. Army's
Research and Development
Center at Fort Belvoir, VA.
Testing for meeting the
military specifications is
more extensive - and there-
fore more expensive - than
testing for meeting the API
service level. Re-refiners
generally are small busi-
nesses that have had diffi-
culty in raising the capital
needed to undergo testing to
meet the military specifica-
tions. As a result, several
re-refined oils meeting the
API levels are available, and
one re-refined oil has quali-
fied as meeting the military
specifications.
Methods of Purchasing
Re-refined Oil
Re-refined oil products
can be purchased through
sealed bidding or negotia-
tion for supply of the prod-
ucts. In addition, federal
agencies could consider
closed-loop and quasi-closed-
loop arrangements.
In a closed-loop arrange-
ment, the re-refiner con-
tracts to remove the agen-
cy's used oil, re-refine it, and
return it for reuse. In a
quasi-closed-loop arrange-
ment, the re-refiner con-
tracts to remove the
agency's used oil for re-
refining and to supply re-
refined oil; the oil supplied
may or may not have been
produced from the agency's
used oil.
Product Availability
There are five North
American re-refiners pro-
ducing lubricating oils
addressed by the EPA guide-
line. Depending on the
company, re-refined oil
products are available na-
tionally or in large geo-
graphic segments of the
United States.
Recommended Re-
refined Oil Preference
EPA recommends that
procuring agencies set a
minimum re-refined oil
content standard for pur-
chasing engine lubricating
oils, hydraulic fluids, and
gear oils at 25 percent of the
base stock.
Further Information
For further information,
including copies of the
guideline and a list of re-
refiners and their products,
please contact EPA's pro-
curement guidelines hotline
at (703) 941-4452.
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