Editorial.

The adage that "necessity is the mother of invention" is being played out as the realities of unabated growth in China and the finite possibilities of energy supplies appear to have become intertwined to stir the best emotion motivator--fear.

With the realization that feedstock prices won't decrease, but supplies will, the search for alternatives has intensified. Feedstock substitution is nothing new. Much research has been done on coal gasification, biomass and unconventional oil sources. But most of that research has been directed toward finding alternative fuel for transportation or energy generation. Very little research was being conducted for alternative chemical feedstocks.

But that seems to be changing. Chemical biggies Dow and DuPont have directed resources for alternative feedstock programs. Dow is in the middle of a methane challenge project where they are offering up to three awards of approximately $1-2 million per year to any scientists from around the world to "develop more effective ways of converting methane, and to produce ethylene and other building blocks without using syngas and syngas conversion chemistries."

The company says that feedstocks constitute the single largest percentage of Dow's manufacturing costs. The challenge was issued in March, and to date there have been close to 100 proposals.

Product substitution in the rubber industry involves trying to find different sources for rubber to offset the high natural and synthetic rubber prices. Demand is fueling the price increases and is not going to abate. That leaves the tightness of supply being a major problem and a strong impetus to look for alternatives.

It seems every plant that produces any amount of latex has been studied. Guayule, a rubber source for almost a century, is reemerging. Other sources being considered are dandelions and sunflowers. The best bet would be to increase hevea planting worldwide.

Another substitution in the offing involves the Penny Test when checking tire tread depth. The Tire Rack, an independent tire dealer and tester, claims that measuring to the edge of Washington's head on the quarter, rather than the old standard Lincoln's head on the penny, results in a 24% shorter braking distance improvement, according to the company's tests. There is 1/16" more tread on the Quarter test. Click here for a video: and here for test results: