New research is investigating the use of soybean-based lubricants in the rail industry.

The University of Northern Iowa’s National Ag-Based Lubricants Center (UNI-NABL) is the recipient of a $370,000 competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to test biobased lubricants and greases. UNI-NABL, the country’s leading bio-lubricant research center, will perform a side-by-side study of the biobased rail curve grease and hydraulic oils with petroleum-based versions of the same products. The goal is to compare the performance as well as the environmental and economic impact of each.

According to Lou Honary, founding director of UNI-NABL and UNI professor, replacing the 10 million pounds of petroleum-based railroad grease used each year with a soybean-based product benefits U.S. farmers and the environment, while decreasing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. “Biobased greases are available for many applications,” Honary said, “including the railroads, but they require formal proof that they perform as good as petroleum-based greases before we’ll see their use nationwide.”

UNI-NABL has been a leading developer of biobased greases and has licensed several greases for use in the railroad and trucking industries. The center will call upon industrial collaborators to help with the coordination of the research activities and to ensure the comparative tests are credible and meet industry performance requirements.