Better for the environment, great for your engine

The challenge
More than 3 billion quarts of oil are consumed by U.S. cars and trucks annually. Reclaiming that oil after use would help assure it doesn't damage the soil and water in local ecosystems. Considering that just 1 gallon of used oil can contaminate up to 1 million gallons of water, it's essential to dispose of used oil the right way

The Ashland answer
Valvoline™ NextGen™, the first motor oil that's 50 percent recycled oil and 100 percent Valvoline protection.

“Using newer technology and processes, used-oil re-refiners can now create high-quality base oil,” said Sam Mitchell, president, Ashland Consumer Markets. “We weren’t willing to put the ‘V’ (Valvoline brand) on recycled oil until it could meet our high standards. Now that we can get the quality, we worked fast to become first major brand to offer a nationally distributed motor oil with environmental benefits.”

Today, re-refining employs the same processes used for crude oil refining to remove contaminants and broken-down additives. The result is base oil that can have the same quality as output from virgin crude oil refining. Valvoline selects only the highest-quality recycled base oil then adds proprietary, award-winning chemistry to create NextGen motor oil and deliver 100 percent Valvoline protection. But this oil not only protects your engine, it also protects the environment.

NextGen motor oil provides all the protection of traditional Valvoline motor oils

There's more to know

● National Public Radio looks into the NextGen motor oil announcement

● It’s a "most welcome’ environmental step," says GreenGoPost.com

● NextGen motor oil passes the test at the Daytona 500

● Click here for videos about NextGen, oil recycling and much more

The Ashland advantages
It’s good – and the right thing to do. So how good is it? Good enough to be backed in the U.S. by the Valvoline Engine Guarantee, just like all Valvoline motor oil products.

“There’s no compromise in performance between Valvoline NextGen and our other motor oils,” said Blair Boggs, vice president, global brands. “If we’d wanted to launch a motor oil that just met API specifications, we could have done that years ago. But that’s the bare minimum, and we aim higher than that. Because we have a higher standard, NextGen not only had to beat industry standards, it also had to match the high standards of the rest of the Valvoline product line.”

Extensive testing and consumer research was conducted, including pilots at more than 30 installer locations in Columbus, Ohio, and Boston. “Our research confirmed people are ready to buy oil that’s better for the environment – they just need confirmation of quality,” said John Stotz, director, brand marketing. “That’s exactly what the Valvoline brand and our engine guarantee do – give consumers assurance that it's good for their engine, so they can do their part for the environment.” 

NextGen is breakthrough technology. Motor oil generally contains 85 percent base oil and 15 percent additives, and it's the additives that break down while contaminants build in the engine. The vast majority of base oil doesn’t break down, and once re-refined, oil molecules are refreshed and fully reusable. 

In the past, used oil was processed with acid-clay treatment that removed some contaminants, but the quality did not meet Valvoline standards. Today’s re-refining technology effectively removes contaminants and depleted additives, resulting in high quality base oil. That means we can create Valvoline-quality motor oil with no additional drilling.

Dr. Fran Lockwood, senior vice president of research and development, said Valvoline always introduces a step-up at each oil category upgrade. “In 2000, it was MaxLife™. In 2004, it was a new additive chemistry, HyperZDP™, that better protects catalytic converters. Now, it’s NextGen – a high-performance, recycled engine oil,” she said.

Thom Smith, vice president, branded lubricant technology, is often asked why he thinks the time is right to market Valvoline NextGen. His response: “The consumer is ready for it. The technology is ready for it, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Valvoline NextGen is available at many U.S. and Canadian automotive retailers and Valvoline Instant Oil Change™ locations.

The environmental impact of recycled oil, 
in green, compared to the impact of virgin 
base oil, in blue