Every conversation with a collector eventually arrives at the same question: how many credits do my gallons actually generate? Here are the current interim CXF answers — and, just as importantly, the reasoning and the caveats behind each.
| Activity | per 1,000 US gallons | per 1,000 litres | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection (CXF-CO) | 6.3 tCO₂ | 1.66 | v1.0-draft — strict eligibility (E1–E4) |
| Re-refining (CXF-RR), Tier 1 | 0.60 tCO₂e | 0.16 | v1.0-draft — displacement basis |
| Re-refining (CXF-RR), Tier 2 | up to ≈1.3 tCO₂e | up to ≈0.34 | Measured facility data, desk-audited |
| Full chain (CXF-FC) | Not offered | Would double count CO/RR | |
Why re-refining is 0.60 — the honest math. The ACR framing (avoided combustion minus replacement-fuel leakage) produced a thin margin between two large uncertain numbers, and the methodology itself is now inactive. The CXF Methodology v1.0-draft re-founds CXF-RR on the benefit every reviewed LCA supports: displacement of virgin base-oil production. 1,000 gallons of feedstock yields ≈2,058 kg of re-refined base oil; the virgin-vs-re-refined carbon-intensity difference, with every parameter at its credit-minimizing end, minus a transport debit and a 10% uncertainty deduction, gives 0.60 tCO₂e per 1,000 gallons (Tier 1). Facilities that submit 12 months of measured energy data can qualify for Tier 2, up to ≈1.3. Existing facilities credit only production above their 3-year historical maximum — business-as-usual output is not additional. The full arithmetic is worked line-by-line on the methodology page, §5.
Why collection is 6.3 — and why most volumes earn 0. CXF-CO credits exactly one counterfactual: the oil would otherwise have been burned without providing any useful energy service (disposal burning, open burning). The EPA used-oil factor is 10.21 kg CO₂/gallon; the methodology applies a 20% baseline-uncertainty haircut and deducts transport and processing debits, landing at 6.3 tCO₂ per 1,000 gallons — CO₂-only, always rounded down. And it says the uncomfortable part plainly: diversion from energy-service burning nets ≈0 (the replacement fuel emits as much), and dumping earns 0 GHG credits (its damages are toxicity and water, not carbon). Demonstrated disposal-burning baselines are rare in the mainland US, so CXF-CO is a small-volume, high-integrity contract. One volume, one contract — registry-enforced by serial.
Factors are ceilings, not promises. A number becomes credits only after evidence: monthly volumes reported through the member portal, weighbridge tickets and manifests attached, and item-by-item validation by the CarbonXFuture desk. Validated activity can then be serialized in the public CXF Registry — one report backs at most one batch, and a batch can never exceed its evidence.
Worked example under v1.0-draft: a collector documenting 100,000 eligible gallons a year (demonstrated disposal-burning baseline, delivered to a re-refinery) generates 630 tCO₂ of CXF-CO activity — at indicative desk marks (see the live CXF Price Index), a five-figure annual revenue line. A growing re-refinery processing 1,000,000 gallons above its historical baseline documents 600 tCO₂e at Tier 1 — or up to ≈1,300 with measured facility data at Tier 2. Small numbers, stated honestly, pending the independent expert opinion.