Convert the process into an auditable economic model
The model should define collection geography, eligible feed, contamination and rejection, storage, pretreatment, re-refining route, saleable yield by cut, utilities, hydrogen or solvent needs, catalyst, labour, maintenance, uptime, laboratory control and residue disposition.
The EU Waste Treatment BREF can structure the operating map, and JRC analysis shows why technology and context affect outcomes. Neither document supplies a project cost. Inputs should come from dated quotations, contracts, tariffs, tax rules and permit requirements for the actual location.
- Reconcile feed, products, co-products, residues and losses.
- Separate capital, fixed operating and variable operating assumptions.
- State currency, tax basis, location and valuation date.
Price the product that can actually be sold
Untreated used oil, intermediate distillates, RRBO grades and finished lubricants have different evidence and customer requirements. Revenue must reflect achieved specification, batch consistency, customer trials, formulation suitability, approvals and binding offtake terms.
The US EPA Comprehensive Procurement Guideline programme demonstrates a defined route for procurement of re-refined lubricating oils by covered agencies, subject to performance, availability, competition and reasonable-cost provisions. It does not prove acceptance in every market, and recycled-content eligibility does not prove API, ACEA or OEM performance.
- Distinguish sample interest from contracted offtake.
- Price only the grades the process and quality system can repeatedly deliver.
- Treat supplier-directory inclusion as neither technical nor commercial endorsement.
Use staged investment and procurement gates
Recommended gates cover feedstock control, site and permit viability, demonstrated process yield, legal residue route, laboratory qualification, customer sampling, performance validation, procurement eligibility, contracted offtake, financing and final investment decision.
Downside cases should test lower collection, poorer feedstock, reduced yield, higher utilities, extended qualification, lower product realisation and unplanned shutdowns. No payback, margin, internal rate of return or market-price figure is credible without traceable project inputs.
- Define evidence required to pass every gate.
- Stress-test both technical and commercial assumptions.
- Stop or redesign the project when a critical gate is not met.
Read the underlying documents.
- Waste-lubricating-oil regeneration and energy-recovery studyEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre ↗
- Waste Treatment BREFEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre ↗
- Comprehensive Procurement Guideline programmeUS Environmental Protection Agency ↗
- Frequently asked questions about the CPG programmeUS Environmental Protection Agency ↗
Source links and status were reviewed on 31 July 2026. Standards and regulations may be revised after publication.