B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called for nominations for the 2016 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards (PGCCA), and companies engaging in green chemistry innovations will want to act quickly as the deadline for nominations is December 31, 2015. Winning, or even just being nominated for a PGCCA, confers concrete benefits, including increased brand awareness, public relations opportunity, and validation of your product or process by green chemistry stakeholders. To be...

On November 17, 2015, Steven Cohen, the Director of Catalyst and Chemicals Technology at Elevance Renewable Sciences, presented a new line of high performance, biobased specialty chemicals and intermediates at the 6th Biobased Chemicals: Commercialization & Partnering Conference. The new product line, called Renewicals™, has a variety of market applications including surfactant, lubricant, consumer ingredient, engineering polymer, and coating. Elevance, a Biobased and Renewable...

On November 16, 2015, The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) of South Africa called for submissions of Statements of Interest focusing on the demonstration of 2nd and 3rd generation biofuel production technologies. TIA manages the Biofuels Technology Demonstration Programme (BTDP) on behalf of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and is looking to support South African advanced biofuel production technology. To submit a proposal, applicants must be South African citizens, be...

On November 12, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other environmental and scientific experts to create the Nutrient Recycling Challenge (NRC). The competition was created to develop technology to recycle nitrogen and phosphorus from the more than one billion tons of livestock waste that is produced annually. The NRC is made up of four phases, allowing innovators to turn concepts into designs, and...

REGISTER TO ATTEND THE "TSCA REFORM PANEL SUMMIT," OR TO VIEW THE LIVE WEBCAST, AT THE ELI WEBSITE. George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health, GWU Law School, Environmental Law Institute, Arnold & Porter LLP, and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Present:  TSCA Reform Panel Summit: What's Happening Now, and What's Next? Thursday, November 19, 2015, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. (EST) George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public...

On November 4, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. The meeting is intended to develop guidance promoting the research and development (R&D) of biobased fuel and product production. In addition to an opportunity for members of the public to make oral statements, the meeting will cover an update on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and DOE...

On November 4, 2015, EPA announced a request for nominations for the 21st Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (PGCCA). The PGCCA is sponsored by EPA and the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute®. Over the 21 years of the challenge, EPA has recognized 104 new technologies that have saved water, reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and reduced the use of many hazardous chemicals and solvents. There are seven award areas covering greener synthetic pathways, greener reaction...

On October 30, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a draft final rule for review to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would reduce the amount of biofuels that must be blended into the fuel supply in 2014, 2015, and 2016 from statutory requirements, as reported by Bloomberg BNA's Daily Environment Report on November 3, 2015. Details of the proposal are not public. EPA is working toward a November 30, 2015, deadline established in a...

On November 10, 2015, Senator Stabenow (D-MI), along with Senators Coons (D-DE) and Franken (D-MN), introduced S. 2271, the Renewable Chemicals Act of 2015 to the Senate. If passed, the bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create short-term tax credits for the production of renewable chemicals and for investments in renewable chemical production facilities. Producing eligible renewable chemicals from biomass feedstock would result in a tax credit of 15 cents per pound of...

On October 4, 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill No. 1032, an act to amend Sections 60501 and 60505.5 of the Revenue and Taxation code, relating to taxation, into law. The bill adds biodiesel to the list of fuels that are eligible for tax refunds when they are used for nontaxable purposes. Starting on January 1, 2016, the State Board of Equalization will provide refunds on the portion of nontaxable biodiesel removed from the terminal to those that can show that they have...