B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 18, 2020, U.S. Representatives Cheri Bustos (D-IL) and Jim Hagedorn (R-MN) introduced a bipartisan, bicameral legislation that aims to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and encourage low-carbon fuel production. Titled “The Streamlining Advanced Biofuels Registration Act,” this bill would eliminate existing barriers for biofuels plants to increase production of cellulosic biomass into renewable fuels. Representative Bustos criticized the lack of...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 13, 2020, DOE’s EERE announced that the Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative issued a call for white papers. The Co-Optima initiative focuses on the development of new high-performance fuels that, when combined with advanced combustion approaches, can increase energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint. The initiative is seeking white papers to leverage National Laboratory resources and overcome technical challenges to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 12, 2020, DOE issued its multi-year Hydrogen Program Plan aimed at providing a strategic framework for its hydrogen research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) efforts. A coordinated departmental effort, the Hydrogen Program focuses on the advancement of affordable production, transport, storage, and use of hydrogen across different economy sectors. Offices involved in this plan include DOE’s EERE, FE, NE, and the Advanced Research Projects...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 9, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs office issued topics for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Participating in the FOA are the following program offices: Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER); Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (NNSA); Office...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 8, 2020, the European Commission (EC), under the European Union (EU) State aid rules, approved the prolongation of tax exemptions for biofuels in Sweden. Having exemptions for liquid biofuels from energy and carbon emissions taxation since 2002, Sweden’s scheme aims to increase biofuels use while reducing the fossil fuels use in transport. With EC’s decision, the tax exemption has now been prolonged by one year from January 1, 2021, until December...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The government of Manitoba, Canada, is currently working to amend three regulations under the Biofuels Act. The amendments will update Manitoba’s clean fuel standards by increasing the ethanol and renewable fuel content in gasoline. The proposed amendments include: “Ethanol General Regulation is amended to:   Include the latest fuel standards for ethanol blended gasoline;   Remove the quarterly reporting requirements of obligated entities; and...

After reading the article below by Jeffery Morris, former Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), we were inspired to post it. We appreciate having the opportunity to share his analysis with our audience. TSCA as a Gap-Filling Statute: Potentially Exposed and Susceptible Subpopulations By Jeffery Morris, PhD In its response to public comments on the scope documents for its next twenty chemical risk evaluations conducted...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 19, 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that, in 2019, renewable energy consumption levels in the United States increased for the fourth year in a row, reaching a record 11 percent of total energy consumption. Wood and waste energy, wood pellets, and biomass waste from landfills accounted for approximately 24 percent of U.S. renewable energy use. According to EIA, industrial, commercial, and electric power facilities use wood and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 15, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the availability of over $27 million in funding for 12 projects supporting research and development (R&D) efforts toward advanced plastics recycling technologies and new recyclable plastics. These efforts are part of DOE’s Plastics Innovation Challenge, which aims to improve existing recycling processes that break plastics down into chemical building blocks that can be used to make new products....

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 8, 2020, Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made $22 million available in grants to increase sales of ethanol and biodiesel. The funds are coming out of the $100 million in grants available through the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) and have been disbursed to 14 states. USDA predicts that the investments will increase ethanol demand by approximately 150 million gallons...