Complete Story
10/21/2008
OSC Receives Fourth R&D 100 Award for Soy-Based Powder Coating
Jamie Butts
Communications Director
614.476.3100
jbutts@soyohio.com
October 21, 2008
Ohio Soybean Council Receives Fourth R&D 100 Award for Soy-Based Powder Coating
Worthington, OH - The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC), in conjunction with Battelle, Hexion Specialty Chemicals, the United Soybean Board and John Deere, received its fourth R&D 100 Award for the development of soy-based powder coating during the 46th Annual R&D 100 awards ceremony Thursday in Chicago. Soy-based powder coating is one of only 100 technological innovations of the year to receive this honor.
Award recipients are determined by an independent judging panel and editors of R&D Magazine. Dan Corcoran, OSC Chairman and Pike County soybean farmer, John Lumpe, OSC Executive Director, Rocky Black, OSC Director of Bioproduct Utilization and Outreach accepted the award on behalf of OSC.
"It is an honor to receive this award for the development of soy-based powder coating," said Corcoran. "This is one of the most prestigious awards for technological innovations in the world, and is a testament to the great work the soybean checkoff is doing with Battelle on behalf of Ohio soybean farmers."
Powder coating is a common method of coating, or painting, certain commercial products, such as refrigerators and tractor panels. It is sprayed as dry powder and then cured under heat to allow it to bind to the material on which it is applied.
One serious limitation that restricts wider use of the conventional powder coating process is that the curing generally requires moderately high oven temperatures-typically above 175 degrees Celsius. And many materials such as plastics and wood are heat sensitive, restricting the use of this technology.
Soy-based powder coating was developed to overcome this limitation. This innovative technology combines resin composites derived from soybeans, which produces a powder coating that has the ability to operate at 130 degrees Celsius, increasing the range of materials on which it can be applied. The lower temperature also offers a 14% energy savings compared to conventional powder coating.
Additionally, because conventional powder coating is derived from petroleum, the use of a renewable resource like soybeans reduces the CO2 emission of this technology by 30%.
"Powder coating is already widely used in commercial applications, and now we have developed a green alternative to the conventional petroleum-based technology," said Lumpe. "This will help drive the use of Ohio soybeans as well as reduce our environmental impact and dependence on foreign oil."
For more than a decade, OSC has invested soybean checkoff dollars in the research and development of new industrial uses for soybeans. This most recent R&D 100 award for soy-based powder coating is another great success that has been achieved through work with Battelle.
OSC and Battelle were previously honored with R&D 100 awards for soy-based plasticizer in 2002, soy-based toner in 2003 and soy-based polyols in 2007.
"Thanks to the soybean checkoff, the cutting-edge research being done at Battelle is leading to the commercialization of new products with huge market potential," said Corcoran. "The development and commercialization of these new technologies will continue to increase the demand for Ohio soybeans."
Headquartered in Worthington, the Ohio Soybean Council is governed by a 17-member volunteer farmer board, which directs the Soybean Promotion and Research Program. The program's primary goal is to improve soybean profitability by targeting research and development projects through the investment of farmer-contributed funds.
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