As companies continue to focus on sustainability and the development of more “natural” products, they are looking to biobased chemicals and products as the platform for more Earth-friendly wares. One example is BioSynthetics Technologies who was featured during the 2016 Biobased Stakeholders Dialogue that recently took place at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C. The company is a USDA transfer partner and during the event spoke about their soy-based motor oil.
To learn more, Cindy Zimmerman spoke with Greg Blake who is the company’s director of strategic development. Blake explained that USDA developed a molecule that replaces the petroleum used in motor oils and other lubricants. The molecule is based on a biobased feedstock- soybeans. “So our challenge now is to take that technology, perfect it, commercialize it and get it out into the market,” said Blake.
The company’s base oil is the product they make and that goes in different types of lubricants, explained Blake who noted that the primary ingredient of their base oil is free fatty acid, more specifically, oleic acid from soybean oil. Blake said this is the largest ingredient in their product. They are using a fairly new soybean variety that produces more oleic acid, which Blake said has been a boon for them.
The United Soybean Board (USB) has been a great partner of BioSynthetics Technologies as the company moves from R&D to testing to commercialization. Blake said USB has helped in many ways including hosting events such as this, helping get them in front of potential customers that will help prove out the new technologies, help with funding of technical studies and assisting in demonstrating the viability of the product, and much more. The next step for the company is to build a plant somewhere near the Gulf Coast.
Learn more about BioSynthetics Technologies’ emerging soy-based bioproduct petroleum replacement here: Interview with Greg Blake, BioSynthetics Technologies