B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 26, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the sponsorship of a new project to harness algae strains for bioenergy.  Called Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization and Verification Research (DISCOVR), the project is a multi-laboratory consortium including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Los Alamos National...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 15, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump signed into law a bill originally introduced in early 2017 by Representative Nita Lowey (D-NY) titled the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (2019 Appropriations Act). Of interest to stakeholders in the biobased sector is Section 428, which covers policies relating to biomass energy.  In this section, responsibilities assigned to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Agriculture, and EPA Administrator are...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 22, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of a proposed partial consent decree in Sierra Club v. Pruitt.  This notice is in response to a complaint filed by the Sierra Club in October 2017 to the District of Columbia Court.  The complaint alleged that former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt “failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to assess and report to Congress on the environmental and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 26, 2019, Bio-based World News will host a webinar titled: “The new wave in bio-based materials: maximum value from lignin with industry-specific fractions.” The webinar, as implied in its title, will focus on renewable biochemical and biobased materials derived from lignocellulosic feedstock. New fractionation technologies of lignin, including controlled fragmentation, polymerization, depolymerization, and activation, allow for its entire biomass to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson B&C is pleased to announce an exciting and important new component to our suite of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) offerings. Our TSCA Tutor™ training platform provides live in-person training at a company’s site, live online training, and pre-recorded webinar training modules — all designed to offer expert, efficient, and essential TSCA training. Companies can mix and match training modules and training approaches to provide the most suitable...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 13, 2019, the University of Manchester was awarded £10 million by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), an organization sponsored by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to foster research and innovation. These funds are to be used in the launching of a country-wide biomanufacturing research hub to lead the way in new medicines and sustainable energy solutions. To be led by Professor Niguel Scrutton, the Future...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 12, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its draft Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2017 (Emissions Inventory) for public review. EPA is requesting recommendations on how to improve the overall quality of the Emissions Inventory, which is expected to be issued in final in April 2019. The Emissions Inventory tracks U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks by man-made source and economic sector since 1990....

By Lynn L. Bergeson Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture has announced the AGRI Biofuel Blending Infrastructure Grant to provide funding for biofuel blending infrastructure equipment. In hopes of promoting economic growth and environmentally friendly practices in Minnesota’s biofuels industries, the Grant aims to develop new or enhanced markets that improve blending outcomes, including but not limited to increasing sales and greater access to fuels. The Grant is open to...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 7, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced the development of spatial models, from a BETO-funded project, to determine how forest management can produce biofuels, restore at-risk salmonids, and reduce the risk of wildfires. Conducted by scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the U.S. Forest Service...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 7, 2019, Representative Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in partnership with Senator Ed Markey (D- MA), released the outline for the Green New Deal, a policy package designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the transformation of the U.S. economy. The outline includes highlights on the systemic impact from climate change, particularly on women, indigenous populations, deindustrialized and migrant communities, the poor, communities of color, depopulated rural...