A new type of plastic made from soybean oil and developed by an ISU professor may be used to dampen noise created by household appliances like washing machines and hair dryers.

The development and use of such materials would help Iowa, said Richard Larock, university professor of chemistry, who is a key player in the research of soybean oil plastics.

“It would mean a lot to the economic situation of the state,” he said. “If the materials catch on, it is very good for the Iowa economy, based on the large market Iowa and Midwest farmers produce.”

The materials could be successful in a market that produces one of the largest soybean crops for the United States, Larock said.

The materials reflect a new turn on the role of soybean oil in plastics. The Iowa Soybean Promotion Board has funded most of the research for this study in the last five to seven years.

From Sept. 1, 1999, until Aug. 31, 2000, the board spent $1,153,530 on in-state research for production technology. In-state research for market development cost $378,077 totaling $1,531,607 for comprehensive in-state research from the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board.

With the help of the board, many professors hope to create practical research that is cost efficient, Larock said.

The soybean oil plastics show promise as sound and noise dampeners, but research in this area is not complete. Though washing machines are the most popular test model used to demonstrate this type of dampening, ISU researches have yet to study the plastics’ effectiveness for this purpose.

Specific applications and products that this research might yield are currently unknown, said Adin Mann, associate professor of aerospace engineering and engineer mechanics.

“We are still in a preliminary stage of this research that cannot establish specifics just yet,” Mann said. “We have a lot of road-paving to do before we can think of marketing or retail

matters.”

The plastics use a relatively low amount of soybean oil, and are supported by the use of a cross-linking agent, divinyl benzene. The levels of this material used are “high for the industry,” he said.

“We are looking to increase soybean oil levels from 40 percent to 65 percent, while still incorporating styrene and divinyl benzene for ingredients in plastics,” he said.

Cutting back on the use of styrene would be beneficial for two main reasons, one being cost efficiency. Soybean oil costs 17 cents per pound, Larock said, while the traditional chemical, styrene, is being bought for 40 cents per pound.

The soybean oil plastics also have potential environmental benefits. Several times since 1987, styrene has been under review for possible links to cancer, according to the Styrene Information and Research Center Web site, www.styrene.org.

Several research organizations have established over the years that styrene has no cancer producing properties in animal studies or humans working around the chemical, according to the Web site.

However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France still believes the chemical should be classified as a “`possible’ human carcinogen,” according to the center’s Web site.