Replacing Toxic Lubricants in Farming

By Matt Simpson

But inside all of those machines, you’ll likely find one of only two commercially available solid lubricants — talc or microplastics — which keep the seeds from clumping and clogging the spreader. And one thing talc and microplastics share in common is that both materials can pose risks to human health and the environment.

“Lubricants are essential to modern farming, but existing approaches are contributing to toxicity in our farmlands that affect farmer health, soil health and pollinators that are essential to our food supply,” says Dhanush Udayashankara Jamadgni, a Ph.D. student at NC State University.

Thanks to recently published research, though, farmers might one day be able to opt for the first-ever nontoxic solid lubricant.

“There is a growing body of research that suggests microplastics are problematic for both human and environmental health,” says Martin Thuo, a professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and co-corresponding author of a paper on the work.

So with financial support from John Deere and the Center for Complex Particle Systems (COMPASS) — funded by the National Science Foundation and headquartered at the University of Michigan — Thuo says the research team set out to create a new lubricant that was safe and biodegradable.