Saturday, October 29, 2005
Think... Soybeans...
Country's First Soy Fuel-Injection Facility Opens in Pa.
One more use for the versatile soybean. Wikipedia's entry for soybeans. I never really think of the uses for soybeans until an article such as this makes it's way to my attention. The farmer can grow the beans, harvest and ship off the useful crop for processing. It can be used for animal food, people food, and fuel additive, among other uses. In reading the Wikipedia entry, I see Soybeans are one of the crops that are being genetically modified, and GMO soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. Currently, 80% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market are genetically modified. I'm not pleased by genetic modification of crops used in our food products, though. Next year, I just might grow a couple plants and hope I get enough beans to make edamame.
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - A fuel-blending facility that is up and running in Pennsylvania is the first in the nation that can inject soy-based additives into diesel or other fuels before they are put into tanker trucks, officials said Friday.
Fuel marketers typically combine soy-based additives with diesel or heating oil in tanker trucks by "sloshing" them together. The new facility is more efficient, blending the fuels before they reach the pump, and spares marketers from having to buy and store the additives, which are also known as biodiesel...
...Soy-blended fuels are credited with burning cleaner and more efficiently in engines. Gov. Ed Rendell, who attended the ceremony, plugged the facility as a step toward reducing American reliance on foreign sources of oil...
One more use for the versatile soybean. Wikipedia's entry for soybeans. I never really think of the uses for soybeans until an article such as this makes it's way to my attention. The farmer can grow the beans, harvest and ship off the useful crop for processing. It can be used for animal food, people food, and fuel additive, among other uses. In reading the Wikipedia entry, I see Soybeans are one of the crops that are being genetically modified, and GMO soybeans are being used in an increasing number of products. Currently, 80% of all soybeans cultivated for the commercial market are genetically modified. I'm not pleased by genetic modification of crops used in our food products, though. Next year, I just might grow a couple plants and hope I get enough beans to make edamame.
