Every conversation with a collector eventually arrives at the same question: how many credits do my gallons actually generate? The CXF answer is three published numbers — and, just as importantly, a transparent account of where they come from.
| Activity | per 1,000 US gallons | per 1,000 litres |
|---|---|---|
| Collection only (CXF-CO) | 10.8 tCO₂e | 2.85 |
| Collection + re-refining (CXF-RR) | 19.3 tCO₂e | 5.1 |
| Full chain incl. distribution (CXF-FC) | 25.7 tCO₂e | 6.8 |
Where 10.8 comes from. The collection factor is anchored to the energy parameters used in the American Carbon Registry's Re-Refining Used Lubricating Oils methodology (0.0402 GJ per litre heat content, 20 kgC/GJ carbon content, converted at 44/12) and cross-checked against the EPA GHG Emission Factors Hub. The EPA's own combustion factors bracket it: 10.21 tCO₂/1,000 gal for "Used Oil" and 10.69 for "Lubricants", with the full ACR/IPCC derivation at 11.16. The CXF factor of 10.8 sits inside that band — above the most conservative EPA reading, below the ACR ceiling — and the full arithmetic is published in the CXF Methodology and contract specifications for anyone to check.
Why re-refining earns more. Collection prevents improper disposal or uncontrolled burning; re-refining additionally displaces virgin, crude-derived base oil production — so CXF-RR stacks a displacement component on top of the collection baseline, net of leakage and project emissions. The full-chain factor extends this through documented distribution of finished re-refined products back to market.
Factors are ceilings, not promises. A number only becomes credits 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. That chain, not the multiplication, is what buyers' auditors examine.
Worked example: a service network collecting 100,000 gallons a year documents roughly 1,080 tCO₂e of collection activity — at indicative desk marks (see the live CXF Price Index), a second revenue line north of $20,000 a year from gallons already on the truck.