Q: I’ve heard of BioBased Insulation and am wondering what it is and how it’s different from other spray foam insulations?

A: BioBased Insulation is a soy-based polyurethane spray foam insulation. It was introduced in 2003 to provide a greener alternative to other spray foam insulations and is available in both open-cell and closed-cell formulations. The open-cell has an R-value of 3.83 per inch of thickness and the closed-cell has an R-value of 5.5 per inch of thickness. The foam has the same or better performance characteristics of other major spray foam manufacturers and is applied in the same way with the same equipment. Some foams use a refrigerant, or solvent, as their blowing agent, but BioBased Insulation is a water-based product with no VOCs, CFCs or formaldehyde.

Q: Will insects or animals eat it since it’s made from soybeans?

A: No. Soybeans are used to produce the oil that is converted for BioBased into Agrol®, a polyol and the building block for the polyurethane foam. Once cured, the foam is inert and is not a food source for insects, animals, mold or mildew. Additionally, spray foam insulation can completely seal a building envelope and prevent insects and animals from entering the structure.

Q: If I’m allergic to soy, will I have a problem with this type of insulation?

A: No, for the same reasons the insulation is not a food source for insects and animals. Once the materials are converted to foam, their chemical properties are changed. To date, I have not seen any situations where a person with soy allergies has reacted to the insulation.

Q: Is the insulation made from 100 percent soy oil?

A: No. Think of it more like bio-diesel. The soy oil replaces petroleum content in the insulation, reducing the amount of petroleum required to manufacture the foam. There are still additives that go into the process to create the chemical reaction and to give the foam its dimensional properties and fire-resistant characteristics. In addition to BioBased, other major spray foam manufacturers realize that soy, or other bio-based products are the way of the future and are now changing their formulations to offer more environmentally friendly and sustainable products. The government is also currently developing a specification to define minimum standards for bio-content, which is expected to come in around ten percent. Salespeople make many claims about bio-content, but the manufacturers are reluctant to publish this data until the government locks down their specification.

The percentage that matters is the bio-content of the cured insulation once it is installed. Claiming bio-content for raw ingredients, such as water, is disingenuous. The company BioBased does not yet publish this data, but they state they exceed the expected government standards by a wide margin.

Q: How is the use of soy-based insulation beneficial to the environment?

A: Everything that can be done to reduce the amount of petroleum used will be beneficial to the environment. According to a BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) study, one pound of the soy-based polyol removes 2.1 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere in the growing process and prevents 3.5 pounds of CO2 from being added to the atmosphere during production (1). That’s a positive benefit of 5.6 pounds of CO2 for every pound of the soy polyol.

According to a Harvard Study, oil usage could be decreased by approximately 162,000,000 barrels of oil a year from energy savings alone if all homes in America that do not meet insulation code were brought up to standards using spray foam insulation (2). This could mean a savings of $8.7 billion dollars a year in crude oil. Additional oil would be saved on the manufacturing side of the product because it is made from soybean oil and reduces the amount of petroleum in the final product.

Sources: (1) www.biobasedtechnologies.com/pdf/Polyol%20life%20cycle_BEES%20study.pdf (2) Harvard Study Findings, North American Insulation Manufacturers of America, July 2003.

Steve DeWeese is a partner with Endless Supply Company, LLC, a woman- owned spray foam insulation contractor. Steve has over 25 years of construction industry experience and holds a degree in finance from Rider University and a M.B.A. from the University of Tampa. Endless Supply Company is part of the small business incubator program at AB Tech and is part of their initiative to promote the growth of green businesses in Western North Carolina.

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