COLUMBUS — Soybeans already are used in makeup, diesel fuel and PVC pipes, but an Ohio State University professor thinks he might have found more work for the versatile crops: De-icer for airplane wings, a polystyrene foam and heating oil for the home are possibilities.

        “For a time, a couple of weeks last year, soybean oil was cheaper by the gallon than fuel oil,” said Steve St. Martin, a professor of horticulture and crop science who is working with a team of researchers and a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

        Their efforts could pay off for Ohio - the fifth-largest soy-growing state in the nation, with 4 million acres yielding 187 million bushels and $1 billion a year.

        “Soy is big business in Ohio,” said Susie Calhoon Turner, executive director of the Ohio Soybean Council.

        Dr. St. Martin's part of the study involves using genetics to create specialty beans with properties tailored to specific uses.

        Besides being a food product, soy has many industrial uses because its makeup is chemically similar to petroleum.

        The glycerine in soy oil is showing promise as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly de-icer for airplane wings.

        Soy protein has polymers that can be made into plastics, said Bernard Tao, a co-researcher with Dr. St. Martin. He is a professor of biochemical and food process engineering at Purdue University in Indiana.

        Soy fuel isn't new. Biodiesel - a processed blend made up of 20 percent soy fuel and 80 percent diesel fuel - has been used in Ohio Department of Transportation vehicles for three years.

        Dr. Tao and his team are studying how to skip the processing and create fuel with nearly pure soy instead.

        “As gasoline prices rise, we're either going to be paying a lot more for our airline tickets, or we'll have to come up with alternative energies,” Dr. Tao said. “And heating oil has huge implications in the northeast United States, where most homes are heated with fuel oil.”

        Soy isn't likely to push petroleum out of the market. Even though it's a top U.S. crop, supply is an issue.

        “We would meet about 5 percent of all of our current diesel fuel needs if we burn up every drop of soybean oil we have,” Dr. St. Martin said.

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