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AARC 



Alternative Agricultural Research & Commercialization Center 



Maine-Illinois Connection 

 Makes Concrete Cleaner 



It all started in Maine, where stringent 

 state and federal regulations on air and 

 water pollution prevented a concrete 

 vault manufacturer from expanding his busi- 

 ness. Officials ruled that pouring concrete in 

 the traditional way — using a petroleum- 

 based release agent for the forms — would 

 pose too great a risk to the environment. 



This environmental roadblock led an 

 Illinois company to develop a completely 

 non-toxic, biodegradable release agent for 

 use with concrete forms. Within less than a 

 year, the Chicago-based Leahy-Wolf 

 Company researched the manufacturer's 

 requirements (along with state and federal 

 environmental regulations), developed and 

 patented a new release agent, and supplied 

 the new product made from rapeseed oil. 

 Result: The vault manufacturer won 

 permission to expand his operations, and 

 farmers raising industrial rapeseed found a 

 new market for their crop. 



The next step came when Leahy- Wolf 

 a well-established firm making industrial 

 lubricants, decided to market its new envi- 

 ronmentally friendly release agent nationally 

 The Alternative Agricultural Research and 

 Commercialization Center, a branch of the 

 U.S. Department of Agriculture, is investing 

 $70,000 to siwport this marketing campaign 

 for Bio-Form® — expecting that the benefits 

 will include reduced pollution as petroleum- 

 based release agents are replaced with the new 

 renewable product; reduced demand for non- 

 renewable, imported petroleum; additional 

 demand for rapeseed oil; and thus new 

 income for farmers and more fields switched 

 from traditional crops to soil-protecting 

 rapeseed. 



Traditional release agents not only are known water contaminants but also present worker-safety risks 

 since they can trigger skin disorders. The rapeseed-based alternative developed by Leahy-Wolf eliminates 

 both problems. Once the word spreads about the availability of the new product, Bio-Form® is expected 

 to become the new industry standard, generatmg a steady stream of environmental and economic benefits. 



Iliusifation Dy Ed Coum 



Leahy-Wolf Company, IL 



Sponsor's Contact: Ken Leahy, (708) 455-5700 

 Raw Material: Rapeseed Oil 



Product: Biodegradable Concrete-Release 



Agent 



AARC: $70,000 



Cooperators Contributions (est.): $77,000 



USDA-AARC CENTER • 12th & C St. S.W. • Wasfiington, DC 20250 

 Telephone: (202) 401-4860 • Fax: (202) 401-6068 



Printed on recycled paper using soybean-based inh 



