Ford's soy-rubber project still at very early stage

ERJ staff report (DS)

Dearborn, Michigan -- Further to a report on ERJ last week, a Ford spokesman said its project to use soy products in low-grade rubber goods is at an early stage and has not yet been trialled in real rubber parts.

The company issued a press release on Wednesday saying that, together with the United Soybean Board, it has made formulations showing that soy oil can make rubber more stretchy, whille certain soy fillers could partially replace carbon black.

Late last week a Ford spokesman said the initial tests had measured only a limited number of parameters and that the soy products have not been used in real compounds in rubber products. The spokesman said it would be some years before that would take place, and Ford would attempt to work with its suppliers to improve the environmental footprint of the parts they make for Ford.

He said the initial results had been good and shown that the idea was worth pursuing. A patent has been applied for and it remains an active research project within Ford.

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original press release from Ford