Motor Oil from Animal Fat

"Motor Oil From Animal Fat Is First Bio-Oil To Win API Service Mark" Green Car Advisor

Motor Oil From Animal Fat Is First Bio-Oil To Win API Service Mark


For many consumers, the donut-shaped API Service Symbol on a quart of motor oil is akin to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on an oven or dishwasher. The familiar logos arguably take some of the guesswork out of shopping by instilling a sense of confidence in the product.
So count on Green Earth Technologies to drum up as much publicity as possible in the wake of today's announcement that its biodegradable, fat-based motor oil, G-Oil SAE 5W-30, is the first bio-based motor oil to win the American Petroleum Institute's certification. In short, the product meets API's performance specifications for gasoline-engine oils.
G-Oil is manufactured from fat from American-bred livestock, the company says.
It has a molecular structure that is similar to traditional, petroleum-based products (Hey, some regular oil also comes from animals -- well, big lizards. They've just been dead a long, long time.)
The company boasts that "it takes three barrels of crude oil to make one barrel of motor oil, but it only takes one barrel of animal fat to produce one barrel of G-Oil."
Green Earth Technologies will incorporate the API label, like the one pictured at left, into product packaging later this year when the first G-Oil shipment begins to show up in stores nationwide.The company said it will market the bio-based motor oil as "the environmentally safe 'green' solution" for those who'd like to be able to stop using conventional motor oils.
"It's been almost two years in the making and a true team effort, but I am happy to say that G-Oil motor oil is finally ready for retail," Green Earth Technologies co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Jeffrey Loch said in a statement.
Green Earth said it plans to seek API certifications for its 10W-30 and 5W-20 weight products later in the year.

Greg Johnson, Contributor