B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

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...