Blogs

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 24, 2017, Neste, a member of BRAG, announced that its Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ is part of Finavia's climate program.  Initially, the renewable fuel will be used in 20 Helsinki Airport buses, with the goal of expanding its use in the future.  According to Mikko Viinikainen, Vice President of Sustainability & Environment at Finavia, Neste MY Renewable Diesel is an excellent addition to the Finavia’s energy portfolio, which...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 14, 2017, Flint Hills Resources, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), announced that construction is underway to install a new, bolt-on technology, known as Maximized Stillage Co-Products™ (MSC), at its ethanol plant in Fairmont, Nebraska.  The MSC technology will be used to convert a portion of the distiller grains, a coproduct of ethanol manufacturing, to a high protein animal and fish feed ingredient,...

On September 6, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT), the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittees on Environment and on Oversight will hold a joint hearing on “Examining the Scientific and Operational Integrity of EPA’s IRIS Program.”  The following witnesses are scheduled to testify: Dr. Kenneth Mundt, Principal, Ramboll Environ; Dr. James Bus, Senior Managing Scientist, Exponent; and Dr. Thomas Burke, former Deputy Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection...

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published standard ISO/TS 20477:2017, “Nanotechnologies — Standard terms and their definition for cellulose nanomaterial.”  The standard states that in industrial productions, cellulose nanomaterials can be manufactured by conversion of wood pulp through chemical, biological, or mechanical processes.  Due to their renewable nature and unique properties, cellulose nanomaterials have developed into platform materials that have...

The “Technology Development Pathways:  Case Studies from the [National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI)]” workshop will be held November 1, 2017.  According to NNI, the workshop will showcase application areas where nanotechnology has had commercial impact.  Keynote presentations will highlight the pathways companies have taken to get from research to commercialization.  Panel discussions will focus on specific steps of the development pathway, such as scale up and...

As reported in our August 25, 2017, blog item, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 7, 2017, on its process for gathering use and exposure information on five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA will provide background on new requirements for regulating certain PBT chemicals and explain how interested parties can provide use information to EPA on...

On August 28, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the first of three feature and functionality updates to the Pesticide Submission Portal (PSP) expected this year.  The portal is a web-based application allowing registrants to submit pesticide application packages to EPA electronically.  The PSP application is accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) Network which requires user registration.  This new PSP, version 1.4,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a September 7, 2017, webinar to explain its process for gathering use and exposure information on five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA states that the webinar will provide background on new requirements for regulating certain PBT chemicals and explain how interested parties can provide use information to EPA on these five chemicals:...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded researchers from Clemson University a $147,744, two-year grant to evaluate the effectiveness of producing biofuels to mitigate climate change.  The project will analyze how switchgrass fields and loblolly pine forests affect local temperatures through the exchange of water, energy, radiation, and carbon with the atmosphere; and quantify below-...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. In a paper forthcoming in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Iowa State researchers demonstrate that their tractable multi-market equilibrium model designed to evaluate alternative biofuel policies confirms that the current RFS program benefits the agriculture sector, and leads to overall welfare gains for the U.S.  The model considers biodiesel and ethanol markets and is simulated to analyze alternative scenarios, including the repeal of all RFS...