Improving Sustainability: Is Recycled and Re-refined Oil Right for Your Process Oil Application?

Jul 15, 2024 | Environment

Process oils are important in the production of a variety of products from tires to textiles to thermoplastic elastomers. And recycled, re-refined oil is poised to make a huge impact on the entire industry. 

Valued at $73 billion in 2023, by 2029 the market for recycled oil is predicted to break $100 billion in total value, following a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 6.02 percent. 

What is driving industries to adopt recycled, re-refined oil at such a rapid pace? And what should you know before integrating recycled oils into your product? 

Suzanne Kingsbury, Director of Quality

Recycled and Re-refined Oil’s Competitive Advantages

In an attempt to maintain a competitive advantage and position their firms for long-term success, many are turning to alternatives such as recycled oil to give them an edge. 

Reducing Environmental Effects

Many companies are increasingly conscious of their environmental impact and seek to reduce it through process improvements. Using recycled and re-refined oil is one way to achieve this goal. 

  • Re-refining oil uses less energy than producing and refining virgin crude, resulting in a smaller carbon footprint. 
  • When used oil is recycled it removes the normal need for disposal, a process which, if done incorrectly, carries its own environmental risks. 

Used oil that seeps into the soil can harm soil health and plants. And when that used oil finds its way into water, it can harm and even kill aquatic life, and contaminate otherwise safe sources of drinking water for humans. 

For these reasons, recycled oil is a step towards a so-called “circular economy,” in which reducing waste and increasing recycling help minimize the toll of production on the natural world and create sustained value in the economy. 

Public Image

These environmental benefits, and alignment with broad and ambitious goals like promoting a circular economy also benefit your corporate reputation. 

  • Consumers and special interest groups are increasingly vocal about the importance of minimizing environmental impact, driving more public scrutiny of corporate decision-making.
  • Conscientious managers may seek to stay one step ahead of the controversy and align their firms with public interests to maintain a reputable brand image. 
  • Consumers also increasingly back up these preferences with their spending habits. 

For example, an article published in the Harvard Business Review shows that consumers use sustainability as one of their metrics to determine how trustworthy a company is, and that increases in perceived trustworthiness translate to increases in stock returns. 

So integrating products such as recycled oil benefits more than the intangibles like environmental health and corporate reputation, it can also help improve your bottom line. 

Ease of Integration

Despite these benefits, some process oil customers are reluctant to make the switch because of concerns about the quality of recycled oil. 

They worry about the changes to their processes that would be required to make up for any loss in quality they would experience by switching. 

But these concerns, while understandable, are misplaced. 

a beaker of black waste oil on the left, a beaker of the same oil re-refined, lightly colored, on the right

As we have been in the business of supplying recycled, re-refined oil for over 15 years, we can say with confidence that re-refined oil is just as pure and that the refining process is every bit as thorough as it is for any other specialty oil products. 

Quality is never in question, with the result that re-refined oil customers can use these products just as they would their previous stock and forgo any costly or time-consuming process changes. 

Sourcing Recycled and Re-refined Oil From Renkert Oil

Here at Renkert Oil, we are passionate about supplying products of the highest quality. Our meticulous attention to detail allows us to develop and supply a wide variety of products consistently through our extensive logistics networks

We apply this same attention to detail in our recycled and re-refined oils, which we offer to help our customers reach their sustainability goals for low-impact products and to enhance their reputation as eco-friendly companies.  

Renkert Oil supports your commitment to quality and sustainability. Contact us today to learn more.