BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS, US — The Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) funded a pilot project this fall involving the application of a soy-based dust suppressant at Illinois grain elevators.

BioBlend’s EPIC EL (EsterLink) Dust Suppressant is a soy-based natural ester dust control product designed to greatly reduce fugitive dust created by vehicle traffic, industrial and agricultural equipment, material handling equipment, as well as many other tumultuous dusty environments.

Primary applications are unpaved gravel roads, agriculture roads and fields, dairy, orchards, vineyards, mining haul and access roads, material handling equipment, and more.

Grain truck traffic at harvest increases dust from the elevator driveway, which may impact the local community. To comply with environmental regulations, a dust suppressant often is applied to those areas. Participating elevators include Prairie Central Cooperative in Chenoa and Meadows, Grainland Cooperative in Eureka, Tettens Grain in Milledgeville, and Stanford Grain Company in Stanford.  

“ISA was proud to partner with BioBlend and the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois to conduct the pilot project this harvest season,” said Mike Levin, senior director of government affairs at the ISA. “We are pleased that BioBlend could be tested as an effective solution against challenges with dust at elevators this fall, and hope that others will stay tuned for the results of the pilot project and try it out for themselves.”

Levin noted that BioBlend’s biobased products have distinct environmental and risk mitigation advantages such as low toxicity, biodegradability, renewability, sustainability, and they are non-bioaccumulative.

The ISA checkoff and membership programs represent more than 43,000 soybean farmers in Illinois.