Arkansas soybean farmers help cushion Ford Motor Co.

Arkansas travelers and motorists nationwide could soon feel the comfort of state-produced “soy foam” on their backsides, heads and shoulders.

According to the Arkansas Soybean Board,  Ford Motor Co. recently announced that by the end of the year, 100% of the car giant’s vehicle line-up in North America will feature bio-based polyurethane foam in seat cushions, headrests and/or headliners.

“The use of soy foam in automotive applications supports Arkansas and American farmers,” said Todd Allen, and Arkansas soybean farmer and chairman of the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board.

Allen, former chair of the United Soybean Board’s New Uses Committee, said the soybean industry works closely with companies throughout the automotive sector, including Ford, in an effort to get soy-based technology commercialized.

Arkansas ranks 10th in the nation in soybean production, producing 122 million bushels annually valued at more than $1 billion.  Arkansas soybeans are grown by thousands of Arkansas farmers in 50 of the state’s 75 counties.

No word on how much of the state’s soybean production will end up as Ford seat cushions or headrests, but Allen believes Arkansas will play a major role in the industrial application of soy and bio-based products at Ford and other environmentally-conscious companies.

“We export over 50 percent of the soybeans we grow in the U.S. and have an oversupply of soybean oil,” Allen said. “So, there is plenty of capacity in the soybean industry for both food and industrial use.”

For its part, Ford has taken more models with seats that use bio foam than any other automaker. The 2011 Explorer recently became the 23rd model to feature soy foam. To date, Ford Taurus, Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Crown Victoria, Escape, Edge, Expedition and Econoline, as well as Mercury Mariner and Grand Marquis, Lincoln MKS, MKX, MKT and Navigator use the sustainable material. In addition to Explorer, the Fusion, Fiesta, F-250/F-350 Super Duty, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ will get soy foam by the end of 2010.

According to the company’s website, soy foam has helped Ford reduce its annual petroleum oil usage by more than 3 million pounds, and is up to 24% more renewable than petroleum-based foam. The use of soy foam also has helped Ford reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million pounds as the biomaterial provides a 67% reduction in volatile organic compounds emissions.
 
“Soy foam is just the tip of the iceberg in the development of vehicle materials from natural resources,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford polymer technical leader. “We have to entertain the thought of bio-replacement in baby steps, looking at every aspect of a car that could be green. One day I hope to see the automotive world go totally compostable, removing the use of petroleum-based parts 100 percent.”

Additionally, Ford biomaterial researchers have engineered a patent-pending formula to use renewable soy oil to improve rubber car parts and make them more environmentally friendly, the company said in July.