Blogs

On December 19, 2013, Cortec Corporation headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, announced its Patent Pending BioPad® product. The company states that BioPad® "is a unique flexible corrosion inhibiting device constructed from 100% biobased non-woven material, containing 66% biobased content. BioPad® provides an eco-friendly sustainable packaging option for corrosion inhibition and has been awarded USDA BioPreferredSM designation. It is specially designed with Vapor phase Corrosion...

LignoTech Developments Ltd. subsidiary Xylemer BioProducts of New Zealand will soon open a new facility in Kearney, Nebraska. The facility will produce biomass-based resins. Distillers grains will be the first feedstocks used, likely followed by sugar beet pulp and rice hulls.

There have been several efforts in the last few weeks to convince the Obama Administration to reconsider its proposal to reduce the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) statutory renewable volume obligations (RVO) for advanced and total renewable (corn ethanol) biofuels, and to maintain in 2014 and 2015 the status quo for biodiesel. Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) are expected to introduce a bill in the coming weeks, which would amend the RFS and reduce its corn ethanol...

On December 19, 2013, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Janet McCabe to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Air and Radiation. She has been serving as Acting Assistant Administrator of the Air and Radiation Office since July when Gina McCarthy left to become EPA Administrator. McCabe is generally well-liked and respected, and she is expected to be confirmed without much opposition. McCabe is expected to face tough questions during her nomination...

On December 18, 2013, President Obama announced that he will nominate Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) to be the next Ambassador to China. The nomination is expected to pass quickly and without much opposition. Senator Baucus serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, the tax writing Committee. When he leaves the Senate, current Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) is expected to assume the chairmanship. These moves will impact the fate of incentives for...

Several incentives designed to encourage renewable energy development and production, including the $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel producers and the $1.01 per gallon credit for cellulosic ethanol production, expired on December 31, 2013. Should extenders be considered, it is likely these two credits will be extended and likely retroactively. Although given election year politics and ongoing budget battles, if and when this happens is tougher to predict. In the short term, one legislative...

As the new year begins, there are several predictions on the path for reform of TSCA. The vehicle for reform is expected to be S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), bi-partisan legislation introduced last year by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Senator Vitter and Senator Tom Udall (D-NM) are now working to move CSIA forward through the legislative process. A...

The 5th Annual Next Generation Bio-Based and Sustainable Chemicals Summit takes place Tuesday through Friday, February 4-7, 2014, in sunny San Diego, California. The premier biobased and sustainable chemicals information and networking event for biobased start-ups, global chemical majors, brand owners, feedstock providers, venture capitalists, and academics will feature a Keynote address by Kaj Johnson, Green Chef and Senior Director of Product Development from Method, who will speak about...

The European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) “Memorandum on Relevance, Adequacy and Quality of Data in Safety Dossiers on Nanomaterials” is available for comment. The SCCS states that the current memorandum is intended to highlight the main considerations in relation to the relevance, adequacy, and quality of the data presented in safety dossiers on nanomaterials.  The SCCS also intends the memorandum “to provide further guidance and clarity to future...

IARC has posted additional information concerning IARC Monographs Volume 111, “Some Nanomaterials and Some Fibres.”  As reported previously, the Working Group will meet September 30 to October 7, 2014. The call for experts closes January 30, 2014. Requests for observer status are due June 3, 2014. The call for data closes September 3, 2014. In the call for data, IARC states that it seeks “studies that are relevant to the...