Blogs

The 12th Annual World Congress On Industrial Biotechnology was held by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) on July 19-22, 2015, in Montréal. Lynn L. Bergeson offered opening remarks at the Women in Industrial Biotechnology Reception, sponsored by BRAG, and spoke on the importance of continuing to fight for gender equality for women working in science and other fields. Ms. Bergeson also opened the Renewable Chemicals and Biobased Materials track, in which Richard E. Engler, Ph.D....

On July 22, 2015, EPA announced a proposed rule for the Partial Exemption of Certain Chemical Substances from Reporting Additional Chemical Data. If enacted, this rule will exempt the following six biobased chemicals from reporting additional information under the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule: Fatty acids, C14-18 and C16-18 unsaturated, methyl esters (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (CASRN) 67762-26-9); Fatty acids, C16-18 and C-18 unsaturated, methyl esters (CASRN 67762-38-3);...

The July 20, 2015, Federal Register includes a notice for direct final action to amend the electronic reporting regulations for Section 5 under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action goes into effect on January 19, 2016, unless adverse comments are received by August 19, 2015. The rule requires the use of new electronic premanufacture notice (e-PMN) software that is reportedly easier to use. The rule also adds the requirement that...

As reported in last week's update, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy put out a call for nominations for candidates to join the Biomass Research and Development (R&D) Technical Advisory Committee. The Committee meets quarterly, typically for two days, and advises DOE and USDA on the Biomass R&D Initiative. The Committee is looking specifically for engineers or scientists from non-federal government or academia; an individual...

On July 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is accepting applications for loan guarantees up to $250 million through the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program, formerly known as the Biorefinery Assistance Program. The funding is divided into rounds one and two with applications due on October 1, 2015, and April 1, 2016, respectively. In addition to opening funding, USDA has improved the...

On July 15, 2015, DOE posted a solicitation notice for candidates for the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. According to the notice, DOE is specifically looking for candidates with experience in biobased industrial/commercial products, non-federal government engineers or scientists, academia with expertise in biofuel and biobased products, and experts in crop or soil science. Candidates with other experience can also be nominated. Nominations should be submitted by...

On July 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $18 million in funding for six projects to develop bioproducts and biofuels from algae. The funding is intended to reduce the cost of algae-based biofuels to less than $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019 to help reach DOE's target of $3 per gge for advanced algal biofuels by 2030. The projects that were selected for the funding are run by Producing Algae and Co-Products for Energy (PACE), Marine Algae...

EPA is inviting public comment on its analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the production and transport of cottonseed oil feedstock used in the production of biofuels. The Federal Register notice also provides an overview as to how EPA may apply its analysis in future determinations, as to whether biofuels from cottonseed oil will meet the criteria for renewable fuel under the Renewable Fuel Standard program. EPA notes that, based on its current analysis, it anticipates that biofuels...

On July 13, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the winners of the 20th Annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA) and honored them at a ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. The PGCCAs were created in partnership with the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute® and other members of the chemical community to promote the environmental and economic benefits of green chemistry. The six different categories for...

On June 24, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notification that the EPA Administrator has forwarded to the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a draft regulatory document concerning the draft final rule entitled ''Pesticides; Revisions to Minimum Risk Exemption.'' This notice states that the draft final rule will not be available to the public until after...