B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On August 14, 2015, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) asked EPA to waive Reid Vapor Pressure requirements for E15 and to also allow E12 blending. Reid Vapor Pressure is a measure of gasoline's volatility and is regulated in the summer months to reduce health risks caused by evaporative emissions. The request by the RFA occurred in the wake of a 240,000 barrels per day (b/d) refinery outage in Whiting, Indiana that has resulted in 50 cents per gallon cost increases for gasoline in some...

The Expert Workshop focusing on technical questions for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) development of a biotechnology algae considerations document is drawing near. The workshop will be open to the public and is scheduled for September 30, 2015, from 8:00 a.m. to noon. More details, including instructions on how to register for the workshop, will be made available in a Federal Register notice. More information regarding the biotechnology algae project is available in...

On August 6, 2015, BioAmber Inc. and Mitsui & Co., Ltd announced the opening of their joint succinic acid plant in Sarnia, Ontario. This joint venture cost approximately $141.5 million to build and has a capacity of 30,000 tons of succinic acid per year, making it the world's largest succinic acid plant. The plant uses technology to produce succinic acid from sugar at a lower cost than traditional petroleum-based production. The chemical intermediary is used in the production of...

On August 3, 2015, Forest Concepts, LLC received a two-year, $499,997 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The contract will support the development of predictive control systems for biomass dryers that will increase energy efficiency and provide significant cost savings. The technologies being developed by the project can be used in wood pellet and solid biofuel product, as well as in second-generation thermochemical...

On August 7, 2015, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced $63 million in loans and grants to be distributed through its Rural Energy for American Program (REAP). The $63 million is divided among 264 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects throughout the nation, in primarily rural communities. In addition to creating jobs and improving local economies, the newly announced REAP projects are expected to either save or generate 207.8 million kilowatt hours (KWh) of energy. REAP funds may be...

On August 12, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced three webinars to review the new features of the updated online Premanufacture Notifications (PMN) Submission System. The new web-based submission system for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 5 submissions is replacing the ePMN reporting software that is currently in use. The first webinar is on August 26, 2015, from 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., and will cover the process of registering with the Central Data...

On August 10, 2015, the Federal Register included a notice announcing an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee in Washington D.C. on August 27, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and August 28, 2015, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The meeting is open to the public and is intended to develop guidance to promote the research and development of the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. The meeting will also include an update on U.S. Department...

On August 4, 2015, Elevance, a BRAG member, announced the addition of Elevance Clean™ 1000 to the Elevance Clean™ Product Line. The new ingredient is a biobased cleaning ingredient that improves the performance of d-limonene formulations, especially when used to remove asphalt/tar and to degrease. D-limonene is extracted from citrus rind and has recently been impacted by the decline in orange supply resulting from increases in orange grove diseases in the U.S. and Brazil. The...

On July 29, 2015, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide credits for the production of renewable chemicals and investments in renewable chemical production facilities, and for other purposes (H.R. 3390) was introduced in the House. The bill would expand production and investment tax credits that are currently available to renewable energy producers to apply also to renewable chemical manufacturers. The program allows manufactures to choose either: (1) a 15 cents per pound...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that it is developing a project intended to support public dialog concerning the development and use of synthetic biology (Synbio) algae. EPA has oversight responsibility for the production and use of intergeneric microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, eukaryotic microalgae (genetically modified (GM) algae), and their products by application of genetic engineering approaches, including those called Synbio. EPA's recently...