By Lynn L. Bergeson On March 1, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced $51.5 million for innovative research of technologies for trucks, off-road vehicles, and fuels. Of particular interest to DOE EERE are: Gaseous fuels research, including natural gas, biopower, and hydrogen; Heavy duty freight electrification; Hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell technologies for heavy duty applications; and Energy efficient off-road...
From June 11-13, 2019, the American Chemical Society (ACS) will be hosting their annual Green Chemistry and Engineering (GC&E) Conference and the International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry in Reston, VA. BRAG will be proudly presenting an abstract titled: “The Role of Regulations in Circular Economy -- Challenge of New Chemical Bias.” Under the “Entrepreneurs Driving the Circular Economy -- Opportunities and Challenges” GC&E...
By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 14, 2019, scientists in China published an article revealing a new methodology developed to safely transform methanol into ethanol. Given methanol’s toxicity, this recently uncovered method allows for a more secure, user-friendly, sustainable technology that can be more broadly applied. The scientific article reports a photo-driven one-step conversion of methanol to ethanol at ambient temperature. A relatively simple process, the...
March 1, 2019
DOE BETO Announces Collaboration Opportunity
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...
March 1, 2019
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019, Signed Into Law
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 resource conservation...
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...
February 22, 2019
B&C Launches TSCA Tutor™ Modular Training Platform
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 combination...
February 22, 2019
University Of Manchester Is Awarded £10 Million For A Biomanufacturing Research Hub
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...
February 22, 2019
EPA Publishes Its Annual Draft Inventory Of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Sinks: 1990-2017
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. Once it...