BioBlend Renewable Resources’ EPIC EL dust suppressant is the latest industrial use product to enter the market after having received research funding from the United Soybean Board and North Dakota Soybean Council. With soy checkoff support, a North Dakota State University (NDSU) research engineer created the base chemistry that BioBlend is commercializing. BioBlend Renewable Resources will begin marketing EPIC EL nationwide in April 2021 after finalizing a license agreement with the NDSU Research Foundation. EPIC EL is made from soybean oil as well as glycerin, a coproduct of biodiesel production.

You can see how this innovation can help reduce dust on rural gravel roads near farms nationwide below.

His work caught the attention of BioBlend, a U.S. manufacturer of high performance, bio-based lubricants who partnered with NDSU in January to bring the product to market. The company is now using the product across different regions in the U.S. and monitoring its performance in different environments and on different substrates.

If it takes off, the opportunity could be significant for soybean growers.

“The dust control market is quite large. There are over 400,000 miles of gravel road in the U.S. alone that are treated and 80 per cent of that treatment is chloride-based,” says Todd Allison, regional business manager with BioBlend. “If we treated 10 per cent (of those roads), that is 27 million bushels of soybeans — and there are some very large numbers of calcium and magnesium chloride applied in Northern Ontario as well, for example.”

Original Story: https://www.agdaily.com/crops/new-soy-biobased-dust-suppressant-helps-clear-air/