Blogs

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On May 31, 2017, Deinove, a biotech company focused on producing high-value compounds from rare bacteria, announced the beginning of the second phase of a project with Flint Hills Resources to develop a nutritional supplement for animal feed.  Flint Hills Resources is a member of BRAG and a leading refining, petrochemicals, and biofuels company in the United States.  During the first phase of the project, which began in November 2015, several bacterial...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On June 2, 2017, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), released a statement in response to the decision by President Trump to withdraw the U.S from the Paris Agreement.  According to Neste, the U.S. withdrawal is “unfortunate” and “a saddening turn for the international battle against climate change.”  The decision, however, will not signal the downfall of the Agreement, which has been...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On June 5, 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) announced in the Federal Register that the preliminary determination in the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia will be postponed.  The preliminary determination will be due by August 21, 2017, and the final determination will be due within 75 days of the issuance of the preliminary...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On June 2, 2017, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the availability of Project Peer Review 2017 presentations.  The biennial event provides an opportunity for external stakeholders to evaluate rigorously the technical approach, progress, relevance, and overall merit of all the projects in the BETO portfolio.  The review was conducted across nine technology areas, including: Feedstock Supply and...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a pre-publication version of its direct final rule signed on April 5, 2017, which states that EPA will be promulgating significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 37 chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  This action will require persons who intend to manufacture or process any of these 37 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as a...

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published standard ISO/TR 18401:2017, “Nanotechnologies — Plain language explanation of selected terms from the ISO/IEC 80004 series.”  The standard is intended to assist stakeholders who are making decisions about the direction, management, and application of nanotechnologies to understand better selected key terms and definitions in the ISO/IEC 80004 vocabulary series for nanotechnologies.  The standard offers...

Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), will speak at the NanoBusiness Commercialization Association’s (NanoBCA) 15th Annual Conference, which will be held June 14, 2016, in New York City, New York. The conference will include leading experts from private industry who are commercializing nanomaterials. Nanotechnology leaders such as Jim Phillips, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NanoMech, Charles van Fleet, President of Swan Chemical,...

Germany’s Commission for Occupational Health and Safety (KAN) released in May 2017 a report entitled Standardization in nanotechnology — Status review and requirements analysis from the occupational safety and health perspective.  According to the report, which is in German but includes an English summary, the authors conducted a structured status review of the standardization situation in the field of nanotechnology.  Approximately 260 standardization documents related to...

On June 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its final rulemaking on the Procedures for Evaluating Existing Chemical Risks under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.   EPA’s proposed rule describes a process for conducting risk evaluations to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, including an unreasonable risk to...

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) and Alberta Innovates are hosting SPARK 2017 to support game-changing solutions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and advance the bioindustrial sector.  The conference will take place November 6-8, 2017, in Edmonton, Canada.  SPARK 2017 aims to inspire, motivate, and support researchers and innovators by connecting them with others working to advance innovative technology across four...