Soy-based Asphalt Enhances Longevity

Soybean checkoff dollars around the country are being used to develop new products to add value to soybeans. One project was highlighted at the 2022 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa.

Iowa State University researchers have developed a soy-based asphalt that uses a bio-polymer from high oleic soybean oil. Iowa Soybean Association President Robb Ewoldt indicated that the soybean oil could help replace other expensive compounds.

“You can take 100% of the crushed millings from used asphalt that would normally just be piled up, and you can start rolling them out and spraying this product over them,” Ewoldt said. “It acts like a super glue and binds them all together.”

According to Ewoldt, about two-thirds of the potential market for the product is public, including roads maintained by state departments of transportation. “It should be about a fifth of the cost of what a hot asphalt would be,” he said.

Nearly an acre of the product was laid at the Varied Industries tent with 2,300 pounds of soy oil used, improving accessibility to the expo grounds for vendors and patrons.

Editor’s Take:

Soybean producers raise millions of dollars each year vis a vis their checkoff program. Those funds are overseen by the United Soybean Board (USB). USB is a leader, often in conjunction with state soybean checkoff organizations, in the development of new products. This latest example exemplifies those efforts. Soybeans for many decades were simply used as either cattle feed or cooking oil. Then, in the late 1970’s the national checkoff program was passed by Congress and real research and development got underway.

Increasing demand through research like that shared in this story eventually puts even more dollars in the pockets of soybean producers. These projects more than pay for themselves many times over. In this case, they have the potential to help lower the cost of maintaining asphalt roads and doing so with lower cost to taxpayers – a win-win-win! Make sure you support any soybean producers in your area by reaching out to them now.