B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On July 2, 2015, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Council on Environmental Quality jointly issued Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products, a memorandum directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology...

Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), made two presentations at the Chemical Watch Global Business Summit held in Brussels, Belgium from February 22-25, 2016. Dr. Engler presented during the "Green (Sustainable) Chemistry: The business and economic case for sustainable chemistry" seminar. His presentations are described below. For a full copy of either of these presentations, please contact Dr. Engler at...

The spring 2016 Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3) workshop entitled, "Principles and Processes: Algae Culture Maintenance, Production and Downstream Processing" is approaching. The workshop runs May 16-20, 2016, and will be held at the Santa Fe Community College and the Los Alamos National Laboratory's New Mexico Consortium (LANL NMC). The event is limited to 15 people, and will include a tour of the LANL NMC and field training including collecting cultures from ponds...

On March 7, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the update of three greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory guidance documents. The documents have new emission factors and guidance on data estimation methods, with specific sections on waste and biomass derived fuels. The updated guidance documents are needed by organizations that must report GHG emissions to EPA and cover direct emissions from stationary combustion sources, direct emissions from mobile combustion sources, and...

On March 10, 2016, DOE's BETO announced that $1.9 million has been allocated for biofuel, bioproduct, and biopower projects under its Small Business Vouchers (SBV) Pilot initiative. The grant money is the first of up to $20 million that DOE has agreed to commit to help small businesses receive specialized assistance with their technologies. Under the SBV Pilot, eligible U.S.-owned small businesses with less than 500 employees can request a voucher for use at one of DOE's national...

On March 10, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced a Request for Information (RFI) on integrated biorefinery optimization. The RFI covers information on the technical and financial challenges that biorefineries run into in order to run continuously and reliably. BETO is primarily interested in stakeholder input on systems that use between one and 1,000 dry tonnes per day of...

On March 9, 2016, the second public meeting on the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled “Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products,” was convened in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 6 Office in Dallas, Texas.  Representatives from EPA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) discussed their current roles and...

Advance Hardwood Biofuels Northwest (AHB) is a consortium of Pacific Northwest University and industry partners. AHB's new initiative, led by the University of Washington, supports a sustainable hardwood bioproducts and biofuels industry in the Pacific Northwest with a long-term goal of developing poplar-based biofuels and high value chemicals. Ken Zarker and Northwest Green Chemistry (NGC), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, have been working with the group...

On March 3, 2016, The Advocate reported that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined a biodiesel plant run by The Renewable Energy Group (REG) $70,000 over a September 3, 2015, hydrogen gas explosion. The explosion injured four workers and resulted in three willful safety violations from OSHA. According to The Advocate, OSHA's citation stated that REG failed "to ensure a hazardous and flammable chemical was no longer in a plant pipeline that was under...

On March 7, 2016, DOE's BETO sent out a save the date for the upcoming Bioenergy 2016: Mobilizing the Bioeconomy through Innovation conference. The ninth annual conference is co-hosted by the Clean Energy Research & Education Foundation (CEREF) and will focus on future feedstock opportunities and technology innovations in pursuit of a stronger bioeconomy. The event will take place on July 12-14, 2016, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. For more information...

DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has announced the extension of the response deadline for a request for information (RFI) about public and private sector capabilities in pilot scale verification of biofuels and bioproducts processes. The RFI, originally posted on February 12, 2016, with a due date of March 4, 2016, requests information on facilities that have the "capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts, or...

On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Research Centers (BRC) announced the 500th invention disclosure since 2007. The BRCs, which consist of the BioEnergy Science Center (Oak Ridge National Laboratory), the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University), and the Joint BioEnergy Institute (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), work to develop advanced biofuels technologies to bring to the marketplace. Created in...

On February 29, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced eight small business contracts through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. The eight Phase II contracts provide the companies with $300,000 each to develop and commercialize innovative products that address environmental and public health issues. Phase II funding is typically made available to companies that have already been granted Phase I funding through the SBIR Program. This round of funding...

On March 2, 2016, the renewable diesel producer and Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member Neste announced that Prince Ea is joining the Pre-order the Future Project. Prince Ea, a well known spoken word artist and environmentalist, will work with Neste's Pre-order the Future team as a futurologist, researching how renewable materials can be used to build innovative new products. The project is launching in Spring 2016 and will focus on sustainable living issues and...

On February 24, 2016, the four year DIBBIOPACK project ended with a final conference at the CaixaForum Congress Centre in Zaragoza and the AITIIP Technological Centre's (AITIIP) facilities. The project was created by AITIIP, a technology center based in Spain, supported by the European Commission, and included 19 partners that worked to develop multifunctional bioplastic packaging materials across a range of production processes. The project intended to improve structural and...

On February 24, 2016, Boeing, Aeromexico, and Mexico's Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) announced the start of a collaboration to advance research and development of sustainable biojet fuel in Mexico. The program will work with Mexico's Sector Fund for Energy Sustainability and is coordinated through the Mexican Bioenergy Innovation Center. The program is expected to include jatropha, salt-tolerant Salicornia, and sewage as feedstocks for the aviation biofuels, which should...

On February 26, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the upcoming Agile Biomanufacturing Industry Listening Workshop that is being held by nine national laboratories to increase understanding of industry needs around synthetic biology. The national laboratories are working to create an agile biomanufacturing platform using synthetic biology tools to quickly engineer biofuels and biochemical in response to industry demands. A successful platform will help organizations to...

On February 1, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the dates and locations for the final two public engagement sessions covering the July 2, 2015 memorandum "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products." The memorandum, issued under the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and jointly by (OSTP), the Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Council on Environmental Quality, directs...

On February 18, 2016, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented at Cellulosic Fuels: First Commercials and Beyond, a session at the ABLC2016. Dr. Engler's presentation, "TSCA and the Cellulosic Revolution," covered Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) nomenclature, chemical Inventory, and model manufacturing process issues for cellulosic products. The presentation discussed the differences in nomenclature between Class I and...

On February 16, 2016, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack responded to two recent reports on ethanol and renewable fuels. The first report was published by USDA and is on "2015 Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol Industry," and the second report comes from the University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) and is a "Literature Review of Estimated Market Effects of U.S. Corn Starch Ethanol." Both studies demonstrate the growth of the United...

Last week, USDA issued a fact sheet containing an Overview of USDA's BioPreferred Program (BioPreferred). BioPreferred was created in 2002 with the passing of the 2002 Farm Bill, and was recently expanded as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. This has resulted in the growth of BioPreferred to include more than 2,500 products in 100 different categories. BioPreferred has two main initiatives to support the biobased product marketplace. The first initiative is to provide a voluntary product...

On February 24, 2016, DOE published a notice of an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee in the Federal Register. The Committee is meeting to develop advice and guidance that promotes research and development leading to the production of biobased fuels and biobased products. The agenda also includes updates on federal biomass research and development activities and budgets. The meeting will be held on March 8, 2016, from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30...

On February 18, 2016, at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference 2016 (ABLC2016), Dr. Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced the release of the Federal Activities Report on the Bioeconomy. The report was created to share current federal agency activities that help to develop and support the bioeconomy. The report first introduces the importance of fostering the bioeconomy and...

On February 8, 2016, DOE announced up to $11.3 million to fund the development of flexible biomass-to-hydrocarbon biofuels conversion pathways that can produce biofuels or bioproducts based on market demands. BETO has a goal of meeting the cost target of $3/gallon gasoline equivalent (gge) for renewable hydrocarbon fuels produced from lignocellulosic biomass by 2022 and this funding opportunity should identify research and development (R&D) projects that will further this goal. There are two...

The Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference 2016 (ABLC 2016) will be held February 17-19, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. ABLC is the gathering point for top leaders in the Advanced Bioeconomy -- bringing together the entire spectrum of advanced fuels, chemicals, and materials CEOs and senior executives, business development, R&D leaders, strategic partners, financiers, equity analysts, policymakers, and industry suppliers. Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist for Bergeson...

On February 1, 2016, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced that nominations for the ninth annual George Washington Carver Award were being accepted. The award recognizes an individual who has contributed to building the biobased economy by creating sustainable, environmentally friendly products through industrial biotechnology. Previous recipients of the award include Ellen Kullman, CEO and Chair of the Board at DuPont and Dr. Jay Keasling, Hubbard Howe Jr. Distinguished...

On February 2, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced that it is preparing the reviewer pool for the funding opportunity announcement "Advancements in Algal Biomass Yield, Phase 2." The Advanced Algal Systems Program within BETO is looking for experts who are not part of an application team to apply as potential merit reviewers. The Program also needs experts to review a recent update to the National Algal Biofuels Technology...

On February 12, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a request for information (RFI) from biofuels and bioproducts stakeholders on existing biofuels and bioproducts plant capabilities. The facilities should have the "capability to perform process verifications for biomass conversion pathways to biofuels, bioproducts, or intermediates that integrate multiple unit operations on a scale of approximately 0.5 or greater tons of dry biomass input per day." The RFI...

On January 26, 2016, Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member Neste Oil announced that Tamoil has begun selling arctic diesel containing renewable diesel produced by Neste in the northern Italian Alps region. The fuel, Gasolio Artico Tamoil - New Generation Diesel, will contain at least 20 percent renewable diesel and will reduce emissions while providing excellent performance in cold conditions. Neste's renewable diesel does not contain conventional fatty acid...

The 2016 World Bio Markets Bio Business Awards are now accepting nominations for categories covering people, companies, and projects that have advanced the bioeconomy. The eight categories for the 2016 awards are: Biofuels Partnership of the Year;   Bio-Based Brand of the Year;   Breakthrough Bio-Based Technology Platform;   WBM Bio-Based Business Person of the Year;   Bio-Based Chemical Partnership of the Year;   WBM Industry Champion 2016;   Bio-Based Product...

On February 1, 2016, the dates and locations for the last two public engagement sessions discussing the "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products" memorandum were announced. The first meeting occurred on October 30, 2015, and a record of the meeting is available on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. The second of the three meetings will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office in Dallas,...

According to a Federal Register notice published on February 5, 2016, 81 Fed. Reg. 6225, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its intent to "prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with potential changes to the regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain genetically engineered [(GE)] organisms." The notice identifies...

There is still no definitive answer as to whether the green/sustainable chemistry provisions in S. 697, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, will survive the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives conference committee process as lawmakers confer and prepare the final compromise legislation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform bill.  Passed by the Senate on December 17, 2015, S.697 includes sustainable chemistry provisions in Section 27 entitled...

On January 19, 2016, Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc. (Elevance), a Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) member, announced the successful scale-up of a second-generation biorefinery technology of the Company's olefin metathesis technology, utilizing ethylene and natural oil feedstocks. Elevance collaborated with Versalis, XiMo AG, and Soneas to reach this milestone in the development of second-generation metathesis technology. "This significant accomplishment...

On January 14, 2016, a report titled "Biobased Chemicals: The Iowa Opportunity" was released by Iowa's Cultivation Corridor and the Iowa Biotechnology Association at the Iowa Statehouse. This report is based on research by Iowa State University professors and outlines opportunities for Iowa to capitalize on bioprocessing developments in the United States. While Iowa has the advantage of a strong biofuel industry, there is still a need for the Iowa legislature to address the needs...

On January 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $15 million in funding for the development of algal biofuel intermediate technologies. Technology applicants should be likely to produce 3,700 gallons of algal biofuel intermediate per acre per year on an annualized average basis in an outdoor test environment by 2020. Applicants should also address a topic area within the priority areas of strain/productivity improvement; improvements in pre-processing technologies...

On January 20, 2016, U.S. Navy (Navy) Secretary Ray Mabus and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack launched a Carrier Strike Group (CSG) of ships running up to 50 percent biofuels as part of the "Great Green Fleet" (GGF) initiative. For now, the majority of the ships will run on a mix of 90 percent petroleum and 10 percent biofuels, partially due to the low price of oil as well as a law prohibiting the mass purchase of biofuels that are not cost competitive with...

On January 5, 2016, the American Petroleum Institute (API) released its annual State of American Energy 2016 report while emphasizing a need to either amend or repeal EPA’s RFS and a need to promote energy infrastructure development.  Jack Gerard, API President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), spoke at API’s Sixth Annual State of American Energy event stating the RFS is a “relic of our nation's era of energy dependency that poses a direct threat to our nation's...

On January 8, 2016, seven biofuel and agriculture groups requested the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the Renewable Fuel Standards (RFS) for 2014, 2015, and 2016.  The Petition was filed by Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Americans for Clean Energy, American Coalition for Ethanol, Growth Energy, National Corn Growers Association, National Sorghum Producers, and the Renewable Fuels Association.  The groups intend to challenge the authority of EPA to set...

On January 11, 2016, EPA published a Proposed Rule in the Federal Register proposing to establish Minor New Source Review permitting requirements for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to disapprove severable portions of the State Implementation Plans (SIP) for Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.  The Minor New Source Review permitting requirements for GHG emissions will include Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting provisions for sources that are classified as major,...

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Research Laboratory has developed a Draft Environmental Assessment and a Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the development of the Red Rock Biofuels facility in Lake County, Oregon.  The proposed facility is one of three projects awarded a contract under the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) Protection Act to produce drop-in biofuels for military and private-sector transportation needs.  Even though the facility will be located in a...

On January 12, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of EPA’s response to a petition it received from the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). BRAG requested EPA to promulgate a rule pursuant to TSCA Section 8 that would establish a process to amend the list of natural sources of oil and fat in the “Soap and Detergent...

On December 21, 2015, LUX Research released a list of Top 10 Innovative Companies from 2015, chosen from 1,189 companies. Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) Member Elevance Renewable Sciences received an honorable mention for its plan to expand production of specialty chemicals from crude palm oil outside of Europe and the Americas by building or retrofitting plants in Malaysia. The report rated the assessment of Elevance's prospects as "Positive." The other...

On December 16, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Biogas Opportunities Roadmap Progress Report. The report shows the timeline of achievements that have been made since 2014 when the Roadmap was originally created, including the new Renewable Fuel Standard rule, streamlined REAP applications and scoring criteria, expanded biomass definitions, and increased funding for a larger range of...

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the omnibus spending bill, or Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, into law. The $1.1 trillion spending bill includes the retroactive extension of the $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel blenders through December 31, 2016, while extending the second-generation biofuel production credit through January 1, 2017. In addition to extending tax credits for biofuels, the bill also funds a wide range of government programs through...

? DuPont, "DuPont Leaders Tout Biopolymers And Technology For Improved Sustainability" ? Avantium, "Avantium Reserves Capacity In Its First FDCA Production Plant For Mitsui" ? Renewable Energy Magazine, "Biofuels Make Significant Contribution To GHG Emissions Savings" ? Boyce Thompson Institute For Plant Research, "Harrison Receives Grant For Phosphate Biosensor Research" ? UMass Amherst News Archive, "UMass Amherst Chemist Receives NSF Grant To...

On December 14, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program: Standards for 2014, 2015, and 2016 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2017 in the Federal Register. The final rule will become effective on February 12, 2016, and establishes annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel for motor vehicle gasoline and diesel produced or imported in the years 2014, 2015,...

On December 10, 2015, DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) released a summary report of the Bioproducts to Enable Biofuels Workshop, held on July 16, 2015. The workshop, co-sponsored by DOE and EERE, was held to receive input from stakeholders about the possible role of bioproducts in the biofuels industry, and to explore future research and development opportunities. The 40-page summary report includes responses from workshop participants identifying economic drivers, targets,...

On November 19, 2015, USDA published a Notice of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21) Meeting in the Federal Register. The meeting will review the purpose, history, operational process, and member responsibilities of AC21; update committee members on relevant regulatory developments, initiatives, and USDA activities; and outline new tasks for the committee to address. There will also be an opportunity for members of the public to make oral statements, as...

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...