Designing and Disseminating
Better Health and Nutrition
Practices
Rail Industry Technology Development
Enhancing
Well-Being
Advanced Manufacturing Institute
Building and
Protecting Global
Food Systems
Enabling Impactful
Technologies
DECODING NATURE
Kansas State University Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities and Discovery Strengths
Overview
Locomotives require fuel and lubrication to keep them running smoothly. An established supplier to the rail industry of solid polymer
lubricants had requests from clients to develop an environmentally friendly version of its wheel flange lubricant. The company
approached the Kansas State University Advanced Manufacturing Institute, or AMI, for assistance. After
a successful product launch, the company began investigating other technologies that could improve rail
industry operations and safety and reduce environmental impact. The result was a new fueling system for
locomotives that leveraged aviation fueling technology.
AMI enabled these impactful technologies by researching commercially available technologies for
each application then developing the necessary additional formulations and components. AMI continues
to support these projects by developing sales and marketing materials, attending trade shows, and
conducting field tests and onsite demonstrations. AMI brings together the capabilities of K-State faculty,
student interns, and its own staff to meet industry needs.
Impact
AMI translates industry concepts into real-world products. Research and formulation testing for the biodegradable lubricant
was conducted at K-State using AMI staff and Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Program, or BIVAP, facilities to produce
more than 200 sample formulations for testing. Upon selection of the best-performing formulation,
K-State contacted Central Plastics in McPherson, Kansas, to assist in the scale-up and future production
of the new product line. As a result of this development effort, the company has transitioned its
manufacturing from Oregon to Kansas, thus bringing jobs to the area. The product has been
adopted by a large freight railroad and a wide range of short lines and is being tested by other
freight and transit railroads around the world.
The fueling system continues to be tested and evaluated as the next-generation system for the
rail industry. By using dry-break aviation fueling connections and a hydraulically operated overfill
protection system, the fueling system improves safety, reduces environmental impact, and enables
locomotives to be filled in less than half the time of the current system.
About Kansas State University
Kansas State University was established in 1863 as the nation’s first operational land-grant university. We’ve held firmly to the landgrant philosophy of serving our world through discovery and innovation. Today, the university is on its way to becoming a Top 50
public research university by 2025 through supporting, encouraging, and growing our research efforts.
1887 Agricultural Experiment Station
Important
points in time
for K-State
Research
1967 Alf Landon Lecture
built to analyze horticultural and
entomological subjects
1863 Kansas State University
1944 First U.S. patent application
founded
filed for a plastic container for
frozen foods
2015 National Bio and
Series on Public Issues
established
Agro-Defense Facility
groundbreaking
1997 Hale Library expansion
completed
$184.9 million in FY2014 research expenditures
RECENT SUCCESSES:
14 patents granted in 2014
$473.9 million
in FY2014 endowment
Office of the
Vice President for Research
4 USAID
Feed the Future Innovation Labs
1,000 research grants in FY2014
more than
4,300 graduate students
k-state.edu/research
@KState_RSCAD