B&C® Biobased and Sustainable Chemicals Blog

On August 26, 2014, Honeywell announced the commercial launch of the XCeed™ bioreactor system. The system is based on immobilized cell bioreactor technology and is more efficient and cost-effective than many other systems currently available. For more information, see online.  

Energy Trends Insider posted a column analyzing the current status of global biofuels. Information for the analysis was derived from the Renewables 2014 Global Status Report, which was issued in June 2014. According to the column author, "the GSR is the most comprehensive report available when it comes to the global renewable energy picture." To view the analysis, go online. Global Biofuels Demand Slows Down According to an article posted at Biofuels International, biofuels growth in...

Stakeholders agree that the chances of legislative reform to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are small -- and getting smaller as the days progress. Both Hill staff and industry trade representatives acknowledge that focus on mid-term elections and partisan divide, coupled with the limited days on the legislative calendar, make TSCA reform this year unlikely. Thus, while some forward momentum may have occurred over the last years with the Senate bill introduced by Senators David Vitter...

As previously reported, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 22, 2014. Some sides speculate that OMB will need considerable time to review the final action, especially given the 340,000+ comments submitted to EPA in response to the proposal. Others, however, suggest that OMB will forego its allotted 90-day review period and issue the rule in late September or early October....

On September 3, 2014, POET-DSM's Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, Iowa, celebrated its grand opening. This will be the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant to use corn waste as a feedstock, using biochemical conversion technologies (yeast and enzymes) to convert cellulosic biomass into transportation fuels. Project LIBERTY is the second of two DOE-funded cellulosic ethanol biorefineries to come on line within the past year. More information is available on the DOE Bioenergy...

DOE recently released a notice of intent to issue a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), "Targeted Algal Biofuels and Bioproducts." The FOA will seek to reduce algal biofuels' projected cost by up to 50% through the creation of valuable bioproducts alongside fuels, thus achieving increased biomass productivity. See online.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a computational platform known as Systems Biology Knowledgebase, or KBase, designed to help the biological community analyze, store, and share data. The project is led by scientists at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley, Argonne, Brookhaven, and Oak Ridge national laboratories. KBase compiles information on plants and microbes, and the interactions among them with the objective of improving the environment and energy production. KBase can be accessed at...

  Novozymes press release, "The mature industry that keeps on growing – Novozymes Household Care in Latin America". Biomass magazine, "BioEnergy Institute result paves way for closed loop refineries". Ohio's Country Journal, "Cover crops make stover for biofuels more sustainable". Biomass magazine, "Geneticists develop tree biomass crop to grow on marginal lands". Cornell Chronicle, "Genetics used to improve plants for bioenergy"....

BRAG affiliate Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is a sponsor of the Prop 65 Clearinghouse Green Chemistry Conference on September 16, 2014, at the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco, California. B&C's James V. Aidala will take part in the panel discussion "TSCA Update: Regulatory Life Beyond This Year's Stalled Legislation," and B&C's Lisa R. Burchi will participate in the "Supply Chain: New Pushes by Retailers" session. Other...

The global surfactants market is projected to reach 22,802.1 kilotons, in terms of consumption, and $40,286.3 million in terms of value, by 2019, according to the report, "Surfactants Market by Product type [Anionic, Non-Ionic, Cationic, Amphoteric], Substrates [Synthetic/Petrochemical based and Natural/Bio-based/Green], and Applications - Global Trends & Forecast to 2019." According to an article posted by PR Newswire, the report indicates that biobased surfactants are driving the...

On August 21, 2014, a coalition of environmental, health, and labor groups filed a 23-page petition with EPA requesting that the Agency "establish time limits for confidentiality claims for chemical information submitted by industry under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)." According to Earthjustice's press release, change is needed because currently "[u]nder TSCA, industry is given wide latitude to claim such information confidential, making it unavailable to state and...

On August 22, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent the final 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and formal publication in the Federal Register. This much anticipated review is the last step before public release. Nearly nine months behind schedule currently, it is unclear whether OMB will move quickly to release and publish the rule. Typically, OMB can take anywhere between 30 to 90 days to review a proposal,...

On August 20, 2014, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) announced a new NREL study demonstrating a potentially more economical way to use lignin to make renewable fuels and products. NREL states in the study that "[o]verall, this work demonstrates that the use of aromatic catabolic pathways enables an approach to valorize lignin by overcoming its inherent heterogeneity to produce fuels, chemicals, and materials." A copy of the announcement is available online. A copy...

On August 20, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) sometime in September to help reduce the cost of algae biofuels and bioproducts. DOE explains in the announcement that the Agency's Bioenergy Technologies Office's (BETO) "2019 projected state of technology for the cost of algal biofuels is modeled at about $7 per gallon gasoline gallon equivalent, without valuable co-products such as animal feed or...

On August 19, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Agency is investing $25 million to support 247 businesses throughout the country under the Value-Added Producer Grant program (the program). The program was reauthorized under the 2014 Farm Bill. It is designed to "[help] agricultural producers grow their businesses by turning raw commodities into value-added products, expanding marketing opportunities and developing new uses for existing products."...

In an August 11, 2014, filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, cellulosic biofuel company KiOR, Inc. (KiOR) reported that without any new financial commitments, the Company only has enough funding to operate through September 2014. This announcement is significant for the biofuels industry, as EPA had relied on KiOR's projected volumes of available cellulosic biofuels to make up a significant part of the 2013 cellulosic renewable volume obligations (RVO) under the federal...

On August 12, 2014, Virent announced that it has received fuel registration from EPA for its BioForm® gasoline in blends up to 45 percent. According to the company's press release, this registration means that the BioForm® gasoline may now be used in on-highway motor vehicles. The EPA testing work for the registration was funded by Virent's partner Royal Dutch Shell. Virent's CEO Lee Edwards remarked in the company's press release on the announcement that "[s]ecuring...

On August 7, 2014, a group of nine Democratic Senators led by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) sent a letter to the EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy, on the treatment of biogenic carbon emissions from stationary sources. The other eight Senators who signed the letter are: Tim Johnson (D-SD); Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND); Ron Wyden (D-OR); Maria Cantwell (D-WA); Al Franken (D-MN); Patty Murray (D-WA); Joe Donnelly (D-IN); and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The letter comes at a time when EPA is working to issue in...

The Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois recently helped fund two research projects that provide recommendations to prevent invasive species from being planted as new crops and used for bioenergy production. The two studies are: (1) "Resolving Regulatory Uncertainty: Legislative Language for Potentially Invasive Bioenergy Feedstocks"; and (2) "Bioenergy Feedstocks at Low Risk for Invasion in the U.S.: A 'White List' Approach." The first study...

More reports from attendees at last week's sold out, three-day Sustainable Futures (SF) workshop, co-sponsored by the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and George Washington University (GWU): "I would highly recommend SF training to others. The risk-screening models are a great tool that can be utilized to identify and reduce risk early in the product development process. The instructors at the workshop were...