October 18, 2013

NREL Study Released On Using E15 In Model Year 2001 And Newer Cars

RFA sponsored a study released this month by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The study is available online. In the study, NREL analyzed various studies on the effects of E15 use in Model Year 2001 and newer cars and found no meaningful difference in the use of E10 and E15 in those vehicles. This is a significant finding because many in the oil and gas industries, among others, have warned of...
October 18, 2013

Supreme Court To Review EPA Greenhouse Gas Program

On the first day of its new term on October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would grant review of parts of EPA's greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. The Court will review part of the June 2012 decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld EPA's GHG program. It will review whether EPA's GHG regulations for motor vehicles should have triggered Prevention of Significant Deterioration permitting...
October 18, 2013

Farm Bill Negotiations Move Forward

Leaders of the House of Representatives have named 29 Representatives to the conference committee that will work to consolidate the House and Senate versions of the next five-year Farm Bill into a final piece of legislation that will be passed by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by President Obama. While House and Senate leaders assert their commitment to settling on and passing a final version of the next Farm Bill, getting to...
October 18, 2013

Reports On Potential Legislative Language To Increase Value Of Advanced Biofuel RIN

It is being reported that API and the Advanced Biofuels Association (ABFA) are working together on potential legislative language to increase the value of RINs associated with advanced biofuels and to allow them to help make up conventional RINs due to blend wall constraints under the federal RFS. According to news reports, the two groups are working to present this potential language to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who are working on...
October 18, 2013

Leaked 2014 RFS Proposed Rule

Last week, part of EPA's much anticipated 2014 proposed RFS rule, or at least a draft of the rule, was leaked and widely disseminated. If the text of the leaked proposed rule is representative of the actual proposed rule, the oil and gas industry would likely view it more favorably than would the biofuels industry. In the leaked version of the proposal, EPA would use its authority under the RFS to adjust downward the cellulosic,...
October 18, 2013

Challenges To EPA’s Final 2013 RFS Rule

Obligated parties and the organizations that represent them continue efforts to challenge and weaken the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Several lawsuits have been filed recently in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit Court) challenging the final rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) setting the 2013 RFS requirements. Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), and...
October 16, 2013

Sweden Proposes National Action Plan for Nanomaterials

On October 8, 2013, Sweden issued a report proposing a national action plan for the safe use and management of nanomaterials. The report’s recommendations, as described in the English summary, include specific actions within several categories. Of particular interest are the following categories and specific recommendations:...
October 11, 2013

PQRI Will Hold Workshop on Nanomaterial Drug Products

The Product Quality Research Institute (PQRI) will hold a January 14-15, 2014, workshop on “Nanomaterial Drug Products: Current Experience and Management of Potential Risks.” The goals and objectives of the workshop, which is co-sponsored by the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and endorsed by the Society of Toxicology (SOT) are to: The expected outcomes are to establish opportunities for collaboration between...
October 11, 2013

Singapore And Korea Research Institutes Collaborate On Renewable Chemicals

On October 7, 2013, A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) to promote joint research and collaboration in the field of sustainable chemicals — specifically in biomass-to-chemicals research. A copy of A*STAR's press release on the announcement is available online....
October 11, 2013

BP And DuPont Isobutanol Plant Groundbreaking

Butamax™ Advanced Biofuels LLC, a joint venture between BP PLC and DuPont, announced that it has broken ground on a plant to produce isobutanol, a renewable fuel that EPA has determined can qualify for credit under the federal RFS. Butamax is working to retrofit Highwater Ethanol LLC, an existing ethanol plant located in Lamberton, Minnesota. The announcement is significant because Butamax has been in ongoing litigation with the other U.S. isobutanol producer, Gevo. Also, isobutanol...
October 11, 2013

Key Administration Official On Energy And Climate Change Steps Down

On Monday, October 7, 2013, the White House announced that Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant to President Obama for Energy and Climate Change, will be leaving her post in the coming weeks. Zichal has been advising the President on these issues for the past five years and is considered a friend to the biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased products industries. For instance, she has been a strong proponent of maintaining the federal RFS and encouraging investment...
October 11, 2013

Waxman Challenges Chemicals Industry On TSCA Reform

On October 7, 2013, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent a letter to American Chemistry Council (ACC) President Calvin Dooley asking him whether ACC is "abandoning its 2009 principles for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act." The letter is available online. In his letter, Representative Waxman tells Dooley that he has been hopeful that reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) would include many of the principles...
October 11, 2013

USDA Again Sells Sugar At A Loss

On September 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it had completed its second sale of sugar under the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) Feedstock Flexibility Program (FFP). Reportedly, USDA purchased the sugar for $65.9 million and sold it immediately for $12.6 million, a $53.3 million loss. Currently, no information is available about the sale on USDA's website because the website is suspended during the government shutdown....
October 11, 2013

Oil Industry Continues Efforts To Repeal The Renewable Fuel Standard

On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, the American Petroleum Institute (API) filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit Court) challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) final rule setting the 2013 renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). While the petition for review lacks details about the lawsuit as such petitions are for notice purposes only, it is reported that API's main...
October 4, 2013

Rennovia Develops Renewable Nylon-6.6 Polymer

California-based renewable chemical company Rennovia, Inc. announced on October 1, 2013, that it has "produced, and shipped to a prospective partner, samples of what it believes to be the world's first 100% bio-based nylon-6,6 polymer, under Rennovia's RENNLON brand, made from Rennovia's renewable monomers, RENNLON adipic acid (AA) and RENNLON hexamethylenediamine (HMD)." The Company estimates this production will cost 20-25 percent less than conventional AA and HMB, and...
October 4, 2013

KiOR Plans Second Biofuel Facility

On September 26, 2013, cellulosic biofuels company KiOR, Inc. announced that it intends to build a second cellulosic biorefinery near its existing plant in Columbus, Mississippi. This second plant, or "Columbus II," is expected to cost $225 million and the Company intends to build it in 18 months after it raises sufficient capital. This announcement is significant, especially as it comes at a time when federal RFS opponents are strong and have waged a campaign...
October 4, 2013

DTSC Safer Consumer Products Regulations Effective October 1, 2013

On August 28, 2013, California's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Safer Consumer Products Regulations (Regulations). The Regulations took effect on October 1, 2013. The Regulations are the much anticipated regulatory implementation of California's Green Chemistry Initiative. DTSC's implementing regulations have gone through several iterations, including an initial draft released on June 23, 2010, a revised draft...
October 4, 2013

DOE Announces Intent To Award $100 Million For Energy Research

On Monday, September 30, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it intends to award $100 million for cutting edge energy research in areas including biofuels as part of its Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC). In 2009, DOE granted five-year awards ranging from $2 million to $5 million per year to each of 46 EFRCs throughout the country. The current Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is available online. Under the FOA, applicants must submit...