B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

One of the highlights of the year for the biobased and green chemistry community is the annual Green Chemistry and Engineering (GC&E) Conference hosted by the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI). It is the longest running green chemistry conference in the U.S. and always attracts a prestigious line-up of scientists, advocates, business leaders, academics, and students who come together, compare findings, and discuss the science of the future. A rich treasure...

A custom designed circulating fluidized bed (CFB) has been created so that engineers at Southwest Research Institute can convert crude oil and biofeedstocks into refined fuel samples for clients more efficiently than previously possible. The CFB is able to produce half a liter per hour of samples, and is able to test both fast pyrolysis processes as well as fluidized catalytic cracking refinery unit operations. This is in part due to the 15 foot tall, 150 square foot CFB being much larger than...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has guaranteed a $105 million loan through Bank of America, N.A. to help Fulcrum Sierra Biofuels build a plant in McCarran, Nevada that would convert municipal waste into renewable jet fuel. The total project cost is expected to be $266 million and the plant is predicted to produce 11 million gallons of fuel per year. This loan was guaranteed as part of the Biorefinery Assistance Program that is included in the Farm Bill. The biorefineries are expected...

Glowing reviews for the recent Sustainable Futures workshop co-sponsored by the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and George Washington University (GWU) continue to roll in. Attendees at the event included Dr. Anthony Hotton and Omoru E. Emmanuel, of the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Dr. Hotton stated regarding the Sustainable Futures workshop "[t]he training has...

* OilPrice.com, "Rethink Biofuel Sources, Not Biofuel Subsidies". *  NavalTechnology.com, "US and Chilean Navies Commit to Further Biofuel Research". *  The Airplanes Channel, "Boeing Backs Biofuel Derived from Tobacco". *  Your Renewable News.com, "Complete Independence from Energy Generated from Fossil Fuels Is Possible". *  The Energy Collective, "What's the Goal and Point of National Biofuel Regulation?". *  ACS...

Chemistry World reports that ionic liquids could potentially be made more cheaply by recycling by-products from biofuel production processes. These ionic liquids derived from biofuel waste could then actually be turned to extracting sugars from biomass to be made into fuels. See online.

The Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI) at the University of Delaware announced a research project with the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC) that will address the production of plastics with properties useful in fabric, food, and beverage packaging and car parts. Researchers hope to further the 2012 CCEI advances that led to a high yield (>90 percent) p-xylene process from renewable biomass. See online.

The Biobased and Renewable Products Advoacy Group (BRAG®) and BRAG affiliate B&C are sponsors and participants in several key events for the biobased community this fall: *  The Prop 65 Clearinghouse Green Chemistry Conference on September 16, 2014, at the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco, California. *  The 5th Safer Consumer Products Summit, October 22-24, 2014, San Francisco, California *  The Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference -- ABLC NEXT 2014,...

Venerate Bioinsecticide, a new broad-spectrum insecticide produced by Marrone Bio Innovations, has been approved for use in California in both conventional and organic systems. The bioinsecticide is non-toxic to beneficial animals of concern, and is also exempt from maximum pesticide residue level tolerances. This allows users of the bioinsecticide more confidence in the marketability of their crops. For more information, see online.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released the third annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report. The report provides forecasts for global biofuel and renewable energy growth. Within the report, the authors predict that the expansion of renewable energy will slow over the next five years unless policy certainty is diminished. For more information, see online.