IOWA SOYBEAN SUPPLEMENT -- 1998

Contacts:
Jay-lin Jane, Food Science and Human Nutrition, (515) 294-9892
Roy Taylor, Soy Works LLC, (630) 527-1005
Ed Adcock, Agriculture Information, (515) 294-2314

SOY-BASED PLASTICS FINDING THEIR WAY TO MARKET

AMES -- Within a year there could be products on the market made from the soybean-based plastics developed at Iowa State University.

"The list of potential products is endless -- anything that is made out of plastic -- but we're focusing on disposable, single use or short-life types of products," said Roy Taylor, founder and managing member of Soy Works LLC, the company that licensed the ISU-patented technology to turn soybeans into plastic.

Some of the first products Taylor expects to be good candidates for soy plastics are disposable ID cards and labels, disposable cutlery, food packaging, visual tags for bulk commodities, replacement liners for paper bags, insulated beverage cups and hay and silage wraps.

One application is for a marine degradable formulation to be used in creating artificial reefs. Taylor said that use could easily require in excess of one million pounds of soy protein a year.

ISU researcher Jay-lin Jane conducted seven years of research on soy plastics with original funding from the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board and the United Soybean Board. She said soy protein is a biopolymer that mimics plastic, a petroleum-based polymer. In the lab, she turned soy protein into the plastic applications of molded type products, such as disposable utensils; expandable foams; films; and sheets.

The original idea was to increase the use of soybeans by creating what could be a large market for environment-friendly plastics.

"After degrading, soybean-based plastic will not cause pollution," Jane said. "The soy protein plastics will break down and the nutrients will return to nature. For example, the soy plastics could be used as an animal feed or a soil conditioner. It also helps to reduce solid waste."

The environmental aspects appealed to Taylor, who called the soy-based products "an exciting advance in degradable plastics." Regulatory pressures and increasing disposal costs will make biodegradable plastics more attractive to the plastics industry, he added.

Taylor is talking with many companies which are evaluating the soy-based plastics for potential development into products. "There is a wide range of uses," he said. "The challenge is to find the adequate resources for research and development of so many promising applications of the technology."

He is working on a proposal for an infusion of capital from the USDA's Alternative Agricultural Research and Commercialization (AARC) Corp. AARC is a venture capital firm that makes investments in companies to help commercialize bio-based industrial products, and has approved Taylor's preproposal for developing the soy plastic products. Taylor said he is negotiating with private investors and will approach grant-giving institutions for additional product development funds.

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