The used oil is cleaned by distillation and then new additives are introduced. In this way, motor oil can be re-refined almost indefinitely. Reprocessing consumes about 75 percent of the used oil being collected in the United States. Nearly half of this oil, some 300 million gallons, is mixed with asphalts for use as a paving material. Reprocessing also results in a burnable fuel for heating or generating electricity or for blending into marine fuels.
Used oil has nearly twice the energy potential of coal.
In fact, two gallons of used oil can provide enough electricity to run the average household for 24 hours.