Manufacturers searching for high-quality, renewable, biobased feedstocks are increasingly incorporating soy derivatives to improve the sustainability of their products. The United Soybean Board (USB) shares these goals and partners with researchers and product developers to discover and commercialize technology that replaces petrochemicals with renewable soy feedstock.

Sustainable soy ingredients can also help manufacturers reduce carbon emissions during production, improve product safety, avoid supply interruptions and, in many cases, improve product performance.

Products developed last year, incorporating USB-supported soy technology, include composites made with adhesives that replace formaldehyde with soy resins. Soy-based spray insulation is reducing reliance on petrochemicals and lowering consumer energy consumption. Rubber belting and tires are using soy technology to bring soybean oil full circle from harvested U.S. fields to the tractors used to plant them. Sustainable soy-based products introduced in 2016 include:

Rejuvenator - A soy-based mulch and grass coloring product line from Rust-Oleum®. The mulch colorants save material replacement and labor costs and the green coloring product can upgrade the appearance of lawns and conserve water.

Bridgestone - Every agricultural tire manufactured by Bridgestone contains an element of soybean oil as part of its chemistry.

RAPTOR - Combine header draper belting, baler belting, and conveyor belting made with a patent-pending rubber compound formulated with soybean oil by WCCO Belting.

SoyGrip - A binding adhesive for fiberglass from Niemann & Associates.

NaturalBlend - A soy-based adhesive for kitchen cabinetry introduced by Columbia Forest Products, who pioneered soy-based wood adhesive technology. Soy-based adhesives made from more than 11 million bushels of soybeans have currently been used in more than 80 million Purebond hardwood plywood panels marketed by the company during the last nine years.

Corruven Core - A lightweight corrugated wood fiber panel for industrial packaging that uses a soy-based resin system.

Soy Skins Adhesive Film – A patented soy resin system developed by e2e Materials, Inc. that is dry and easy to handle at room temperature. Soy Skins readily bond to wood veneers when heat and pressure are applied and replace wet glue normally used in bent wood and laminates. It is completely free of formaldehyde, red-list chemicals and all petroleum-based products.

Heatlok XT –Eco-friendly, closed cell spray foam insulation made from recycled plastic and soybean oil by Demilec. Heatlok creates an engineered building envelope that provides air and vapor barriers, insulation and a drain plane in one application, and enables building professionals to earn up to 10 LEED points.

Crete-Lease Bio-Tru Release Agent – A concrete form release agent from Cresset Chemical Company.

Blue Bear 800GP - A concrete form release for wood forms made from soybean oil by Franmar Chemical, Inc.

Blue Bear 800LX - A soy-based concrete form release for latex forms from Franmar Chemical, Inc.

Soyathane - An extremely low VOC water-based soybean urethane coating made with a new technology anti-corrosive pigment. Field tested for 24-months in rail, marine, OEM, architectural and piping industries, Soyathane by Bipacco Coatings, LLC is listed as a BioPreferred product.

Green Polyurethane - Modified hybrid polyurethane coatings from Hybrid Coating Technologies. Manufactured without the use of toxic isocyanates throughout the entire production process, Green Polyurethane coatings with soy can lower application costs by 30-60 percent when compared to conventional polyurethanes and epoxies.

ProSoy 7460 - A pigment binder for water-based flexographic and gravure inks from Applied Protein Systems.

Prolia - A soy flour adhesive replacement for formaldehyde and phenol-based resins by Cargill. Research demonstrates soy flour requires less drying time, uses less water and produces less waste than conventional plywood glues.

Multibond MX-100 - A bio-modified adhesive from Franklin Adhesives and Polymers.

Ecotec Surfaces – A unique soy-urethane-based surface material for countertops and vanity tops manufactured and marketed by Prock Operations, Inc.

Cola Quat SME – A cationic surfactant designed to neutralize a wide range of odors, marketed by Colonial Chemical, Inc.

NatSurFact – A rhamnolipid-based biosurfactant from Logos Technologies LLC.

Maquat Soy-QSX – A deep-conditioning agent for use in salon-quality haircare products from Pilot Chemical Corporation.

Sterotex FL – Hydrogenated soybean oil from ABITEC Corporation.

Natipide II – Liposomes for dermatology and cosmetics improve skin humidity and skin penetration manufactured by American Lecithin Company.

Lipoid Soybean Lecithin – Soybean lecithin for cosmetics from Lipoid LLC.

Soy Tein NPNF – Hydrolyzed soy protein for skin and haircare from Tri-K Industries, Inc.

Amino Soy NPNF – Soy amino acid for skin and haircare from Tri-K Industries, Inc.

USB’s 73 farmer-directors work on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers to achieve maximum value for their soy checkoff investments. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds in programs and partnerships to drive soybean innovation beyond the bushel and increase preference for U.S. soy. That preference is based on U.S. soybean meal and oil quality and the sustainability of U.S. soybean farmers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.