What’s synthetic motor oil made of and is it any better for the planet?
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you are supposed to change the oil far less often with synthetic so in that way yes it’s a little better.
Synthetic oil is kinda like Pringles. They’re not really *potato chips.* But they’re made from potato byproduct, then processed, shaped into things that look like chips except they’re all identical, fried in oil, then stacked into cool packaging. No one’s ever going to mistake them for Lays, but at the end of the day it’s still deep-fried potato.
Vehicles that use synthetic oil also use different gaskets. The material has to be different to cope with the synthetic oil. If I remember correctly, any vehicle made after 2000 can use synthetic. Older vehicles still have to use regular engine oil
Oil is highly recycled. Sure, some of it isn’t disposed properly, but the vast majority is. I work in auto repair, and we have it hauled away by a reputable company that sells it to a recycler. A former Co workers father worked at a place that did the recycling and cleaning. Oil doesn’t go bad. It just gets contaminated. IIRC NASCAR runs reclaimed oil as an attempt to promote environmental awareness, despite how bad a traveling racing league is in general.
Synthetic motor oil is also made from crude oil. It’s called synthetic because it has been chemically altered from its original state, but it’s still (overwhelmingly) made from crude oil. From the standpoint of the planet, synthetic oils are no better than traditional oil because they’re also made from crude, although you don’t have to change your oil as often when you use synthetic.