Green Tech

Green Earth Technologies claims that it's come up with a motor oil that is friendlier toward the environment.

G-oil is a more sustainable option than regular motor oil brands because it's made in part from beef slaughter byproducts, namely animal fat, according to the Stamford, Conn.-based company.

Green Earth Technologies also claims that its G-Oil exceeds the "Ultimate Biodegradability" standard (60 percent biodegraded within 28 days) of the international standards organization ASTM.

The company says more than 90 percent of used G-Oil will biodegrade in just nine days. That's a considerable claim. Used motor oil from one oil change dumped into the ground contaminates about 1 million gallons of fresh water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which has been encouraging the recycling of used motor oil for years.

Green Earth Technologies launched its product at about 2,000 stores in the United States at the end of January. Popular retailers such as Home Depot, Amazon.com, and Ace Hardware are among its carriers.

Don't get too excited.

While the company says it's awaiting approval for a car and truck motor oil, and has tested a race car-worthy version, as of right now, Green Earth Technologies only a 2-Cycle G-Oil and a 4-Cycle 10W-30 G-Oil.

That's good only for use in small-engine machines such as tractors, generators, pressure washers, and lawn motors.

A "green," petroleum-free brand of motor oil is due to appear on store shelves soon.

Green Earth Technologies said it's shipping its line of green motor oils to national retailers starting within the next month. Waste fats from cattle instead of fossil fuels are the key ingredients.

"We turn that into liquid form and use nanotechnology to have it perform in lubricant format," explained company CEO Jeff Marshall.

Because the slaughter of each cow leaves behind 200 pounds of waste tallow, the company is making use of a renewable resource, he said.

"We're doing something to help because there's no longer a use for french fries and cooking products that use trans fats."

The company bills its 10W30 and 10W40 G-Oil for cars, as well as motor oils for boats, lawnmowers, and weed whackers, as biodegradable and nontoxic.

"You could spill motor oil over the back of boat--it doesn't harm the environment," Marshall said.

In 2-cycle engines, the smokeless oil reduces hydrocarbons by 32 percent, cuts the emissions of carbon monoxide by 48 percent, and of nitrous oxide by 80 percent, according to Green Earth Technologies.

The company also makes cleaning products for cars, boats, and homes. The entire line costs the same as traditional, toxic products, Marshall said. The recyclable packaging uses soy inks and biodegradable paper.

Green Earth Technologies' skunk works are developing 50 more products, including additives Marshall said he hopes could be used in airplane biofuels, which are being tested by Virgin Atlantic Airways.

With headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Green Earth Technologies has 250 employees and is traded on the pink sheets. In January it raised $2.1 million from Founders Technology and eight angel investors.

Marshall, who has worked in venture capital for three decades, said he's working with the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Petroleum Institute to develop a green label for a wide range of consumer chemical products.

"We'd like to create the standard for what is green, very analogous to how we created 802.11 and TCP/IP standards," he said.

Another clean tech start-up eyeing the market for eco-friendly car products is SOMS Technologies, which claims its engine oil filter could end the era of the 3,000-mile oil change.

Nano Chemical Systems Holdings announced last April that its NanOil, made from palm oils, would become commercially available. However, this writer couldn't find signs that NanOil is available or reach the company.

Some environmentalists object to the harvesting of palm oil particularly in Indonesia, which is clearing virgin rainforests for farming.

SOMS Technologies says that its engine filter will extend the life of engine oil by 30,000 miles, enabling drivers to use 75 percent less oil and save hundreds of dollars in maintenance per car.

"You could say this would be terrible news for Jiffy Lube, but we don't look at it that way," said company CEO Miles Flamenbaum, who presented at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday. "It would allow them to charge a little bit more, take more of a margin from oil change costs, and do it less often."

The company, based in Bedford, N.Y., has raised $900,000 in angel funding and seeks another $4 million.

Flamenbaum aims for the company to snag a share of the $7 billion U.S. market for oil filter and engine treatment products while also helping to reduce the demand for petroleum and cutting pollution from waste engine oil, which contaminates groundwater when improperly disposed.

Engine oil passes through conventional filters in one swoop, but SOMS Technologies' system diverts some of the oil flow from the main filter into a finer filter.

"It's more passive," Flamenbaum said. "We're just taking a little bit of the oil and treating it separately, without affecting pressure in the engine."

The filtered oil comes out as clean as or even cleaner than new engine oil, he added.

The filter would cost about $15 and work with any combustion engine, including those in gasoline, biofuel, biodiesel, and hydrogen cars.

It uses off-the-shelf components as well as an "advanced material" the company won't disclose. Unlike many filtration systems being developed in labs, such as for purifying water, however, it does not involve nanotechnology.

There are 470 million filter changes each year in the United States, and 1.6 billion around the world, according to the company.

Flamenbaum sees the filter fitting into a growing green trend in automotive services. For instance, in November AAMCO launched its "Eco-Green" certification program to promote alternative fuels and reduce emissions at service centers.

Within a month, Green Earth Technologies' motor oil made from animal fats instead of petroleum will hit the shelves of big box stores, according to its CEO Jeff Marshall.

In April, SOMS Technologies' filters will be tested in some 30 New York City taxicabs, followed by 20 school buses in upstate New York. SOMS Technologies plans to target such fleets first, with long-term sights on selling its filters in automotive service stores and big-box retailers.

Flamenbaum sees a huge opportunity in developing countries where there's little infrastructure for waste oil recycling.

"I was in China last week and literally saw somebody draining oil and dumping it on the ground," Flamenbaum said. "If that guy was doing it there are probably another million like him out there."

The company is working on agreements to distribute the product in China, as well as with the United States Postal Service.

"We have excellent timing," Flamenbaum said. "There has been very little advancement in filter technology. Since the spin-on oil filter was invented in 1953, the biggest innovation is the pleated filter from the round filter to increase the surface area."

SOMS stands for spin-on microfilter system.

Certain biofuels, though eco-friendly, have a reputation for gumming up engine parts, which affect vehicle performance and ultimately reduce engine life. So the idea of a bio-based motor oil makes some of us a little nervous. But one Bay Area-based company is hawking a green, biodegradable motor oil that it says will protect engines as well as name-brand, petroleum-based oil.

G-Oil, made by Green Earth Technologies, is made by converting tallow -- that's saturated cow fat to you and me -- into a high-value unsaturated oil, which is less likely to clog up engine parts. (Tallow was used historically to make products such as candles and soap, and was sometimes used in cooking.) The resulting motor oil, according to the label, can be used in naturally-aspirated engines, as well as turbocharged and super-charged diesel and gasoline engines. In addition, the packaging is 100 percent recyclable, and the labels are printed on biodegradable paper with soy ink.

The company says the used oil is non-toxic and can be disposed of at home, but it must first be mixed with another of the company's products, called G-disposoil. The second compound breaks the oil into smaller molecules, which can be eaten by microorganisms found in the soil. However, there is no mention of whether other hazardous chemicals might be picked up by the oil during its lifespan inside the engine.

There isn't much information yet on how to buy G-oil, although the company recently showed off its products at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) in Las Vegas.

We love the idea of the product, if all claims turn out to be true. But those of us with newer, high-performance cars might just want to wait around a bit for someone else to be the guinea pig.

Related link: Green Earth Technology