B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Rosalind Franklin Society will present the BIO Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology to Dr. Debbie Yaver at the 2014 BIO Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy's "Women in Biotechnology Reception," sponsored by BRAG. Dr. Yaver has studied the role of the vacuolar ATPase in protein sorting, as well as gene expression technology in bacterial and fungal systems. She is now...

Many of the top policymakers, leaders, and stakeholders in the bioeconomy gathered in San Francisco this week for ABLCNext. The Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group's (BRAG®) Executive Director Kathleen Roberts participated in the opening panel of the conference, "US Elections, What Happened, What Now," where she and other trade group leaders discussed likely impacts on the bioeconomy with the swing toward Republicans in federal and state races. Regarding the outlook...

DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) recently announced three new subtopics related to bioenergy under its SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs: * Design and Fabrication of Solids Handling for Biomass Conversion Systems -- Grant applications are sought for designs, prototype equipment, and procedures that enable continuous biomass solids handling at a cost ten percent lower than currently available. * Low-Cost Coatings for Advanced Thermal...

On November 12, 2014, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy held a press conference to announce the recipients of the Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards. In her comments, Administrator McCarthy stated that "a strong, world-leading economy requires a clean environment," and noted that under the Obama Administration the production of wind energy has tripled, and solar energy has increased ten-fold. Joining Ms. McCarthy at the press conference were representatives from...

With Republicans recapturing the Senate majority, GOP lawmakers now take the helm of several Senate committees of interest. For the most part, those Republican Senators who were ranking members now move into the chair roles. Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee: Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) will take over the EPW reins from Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA). His committee will have the primary role in amending the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Senator Inhofe was lauded by the late...

On October 29, 2014, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) announced that Appalachian Biofuels LLC will invest about $3.5 million to establish its headquarters and an enzymatic biodiesel production facility in St. Paul, Virginia. The location is expected to create 40 jobs, which will be filled by former coal miners from the town of St. Paul and surrounding areas. Appalachian Biofuels will be refining waste feedstock materials with an enzyme to create biodiesel. The two organizations mainly...

The October 2014 issue of Industrial Biotechnology features the article Creative Adaptation: Enhancing Oversight of Synthetic Biology Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), written by Lynn L. Bergeson, Of Counsel with the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), Charles M. Auer, former Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and Oscar Hernandez, former Director of the Risk Assessment Division...

In the October 30, 2014, Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a notice of request for public comments regarding an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Biobased Procurements. The original notice was published in the Federal Register on August 20, 2014, and no comments were received. Comments are now due on December 1, 2014....

DOE has developed a small business "All-in-one Application Tool" for small businesses looking for funds to advance clean energy technologies. The online tool provides a guide for potential applicants for the topics under the DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Among the nine topics identified by SBIR is bioenergy, with particular focus on biomass conversion systems, coatings for metal combustors, and solid-liquid...

On October 31, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released two plans related to climate change. The Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan and the Climate Change Adaptation Plan are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for flooding, rising sea levels, and extreme temperatures/weather patterns. These plans come five years after the 2009 Executive Order on Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance that set energy, climate, and environmental goals for government...

On October 22, 2014, Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) opened the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project, a demonstration facility that will turn used cooking oil into aviation biofuel at a rate of 170 gallons per day. This project will assess the feasibility of producing higher volumes of biofuel, as China has enough used cooking oil to make as much as 500 million gallons of biofuel annually. Working together since 2012, Boeing and COMAC support China's...

During a summit in Brussels on October 23-24, 2014, European Union (EU) leaders agreed to a blueprint to guide climate and energy policy through 2030. The overall goals of the blueprint are to achieve a 40 percent emissions reduction by 2030, relative to 1990 emissions levels, as well as a target of 27 percent for total energy consumption in the EU being provided by renewable sources by 2030. The EU already has a 20 percent emissions reduction target for 2020. The target is expected to help...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) issued an announcement for its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, including the technology transfer opportunity, which focuses on small businesses' commercialization of intellectual property from DOE-funded laboratories and universities. Small businesses selected for the programs are allowed to maintain the rights to new technologies they...

On October 27, 2014, President Obama announced new plans to strengthen the manufacturing sector. One of the listed plans involved the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) coming together to invest in advanced materials, advanced sensors, and digital manufacturing. These three areas were determined to be critical to U.S. competitiveness and include biobased materials in the advanced materials category. Over $300 million is...

While it may seem like it was just last week that the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards were announced, the deadline for the 2015 awards is fast approaching -- December 31, 2014. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reverting back to its original end-of-calendar-year deadline after having a Spring deadline in recent years, and the 2015 awards will be presented in Summer 2015. The Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards promote the environmental and economic...

On October 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed to amend the regulations for the Voluntary Labeling Program for Biobased Products under USDA's BioPreferred Program. As explained in the Federal Register notice, the proposed amendments are needed to address certain legislative requirements in the 2014 Farm Bill that cannot be implemented without further guidance. Specifically, the proposed amendments allow for USDA promotion of biobased products regardless of date of...

On October 17, 2014, Abengoa opened -- and DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz dedicated -- the world's largest cellulosic biorefinery in Hugoton, Kansas. This second generation cellulosic ethanol plant will process 1,000 tons of biomass per day and utilize mainly corn stover, as well as wheat straw, milo stubble, and switch grass. This biorefinery will produce up to 25 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol every year. It benefited from a $132.4 million loan guarantee and a $97 million grant, both...

During the next state legislative session, which begins in January, Iowa's Economic Development Agency will reportedly seek approximately $20 million in new incentives for companies that use chemicals derived from ethanol production to produce biobased products. The Agency reportedly believes sufficient incentives exist to promote biofuel development in Iowa. This new incentive would be needed to help further the biobased economy in the State. More information on this effort is available in...

On October 21, 2014, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued EPA. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. CREW alleges that EPA failed to comply with its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for documents regarding external and intra-agency communications related to the Agency's formation of the 2014 federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). CREW requested the documents as part of its effort to explore the extent to which the...

October 16, 2014, was a banner day for green chemistry in the nation's capital with the 2014 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards ceremony, and the Green Chemistry Market Roundtable preceding it. The roundtable included representatives from industry, including the 2014 award winners; EPA and other federal agency officials; and others involved with green chemistry and biobased chemicals and products. BRAG Executive Director, Kathleen Roberts, and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.'s...