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Biofuels International, “Biogas-to-Biofuel Technology Accepted for Testing” Biofuels International, “Prospects Raised for Large Scale Algae Biofuel Production” Reuters, “Biofuel Groups Ask Federal Judge to Freeze U.S. Refinery Waiver Program” Packaging Gateway, “Leaf Resources Extends Leafcoat License to Europe” Reuters, “Iowa Senator Says Expect Fewer Biofuel Waivers from Wheeler’s EPA” Fronteras, “Food Biotechnology Added...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 19, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in New Mexico, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in California, received the Excellence in BioPreferred Procurement Awards for Fiscal Year 2018. Both LANL and LLNL are U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories and have been awarded for the testing and adoption of biobased products within their operations. The awards reflect...

Phys.org, “New Method Enables Large-Scale Production of Bio-Based Plastic Bottles” Mercom India, “India Joins the Club for Collaboration on New and Alternate Fuels” Biofuels Digest, “University of Delaware Start-Up Creates Renewable Oil that Can Be Used from Cosmetics to Lubricants” Reuters, “Britain’s Renewable Electricity Capacity Overtakes Fossil Fuels -- Report” Renewable Energy Magazine, “APPA Claims Biofuel a Key Ingredient in...

Reuters, “Update 1 – Brazil’s Bolsonaro Backs Ethanol Industry, Pledges Partnership” Palo Alto Daily Post, “Hydrogen Fueling Station Opens” Plastic News, “Bio-on Deal Bringing Bioplastics to Russia” Bio-Based World News, “Thyssenkrupp-commissioned Bio-Plastic Plant Starts Production in China” FoodBev Media, “Plant-based Collagen Company Geltor Receives $18.2m in Funding” Bio-Based World News, “Bio-based a Possible...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On November 6, 2018, Neste, a BRAG member, announced its partnership with Clariant to develop new sustainable material solutions. While Clariant concentrates on specialty chemicals, Neste consists of one of the leading companies providing renewable diesel and drop-in chemical solutions. In the announcement, Neste outlined the phases of the partnership, as follows:   Phase 1: The companies will start to replace fossil-fuel based ethylene and propylene with monomers from...

By Kathleen M. Roberts Is your company engaged in Class 2 chemistries that are similar to existing Class 2 chemicals but are derived from an innovative bio-source? We are looking for pioneering companies working on new biobased Class 2 chemicals to assist in advancing an important project with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).   ISSUE:  While EPA sustainability goals would seemingly include adoption of improved biobased technologies, EPA’s policies under the...

Ames Tribune, “Dept. of Energy Grant Helps Fund Iowa State’s Biobased Chemical Study” Chemistry World, “Waste Vegetable Oil Turned into Valuable Chemicals for Drugs and Plastics” The Hill, “Oil Industry:  Voters Worried about Trump’s Ethanol Plan” The Hill, “New Technologies Can Turn Timber Abundance into Sustainable Solutions” Phys.org, “Growing Algae More Sustainably for Biofuel Production” Automotive World,...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 30, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., and FDA Deputy Commissioner Anna Abram regarding FDA’s new action plan to advance plant and animal biotechnology innovation.  Aimed at ensuring the safety of plant and animal biotechnology products and avoiding unnecessary barriers to future innovation, the Action Plan focuses on three key priorities: Advancing public health by promoting...

By Lynn L. Bergeson In October 2018, DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) published a report called “Cell-Free Synthetic Biology and Biocatalysis:  Prototyping and Conversion Platforms.”  The report consists of a summary from discussions held on a listening day by BETO in Denver, Colorado, in 2017.  The public meeting was intended to discuss research and development opportunities related to cell-free synthetic biology and biocatalysis, and how these...

Eureactiv, “EU Bioeconomy Strategy and IPCC – Planets Apart” Dentristry.co.uk, “First Bio-based Plastic Toothbrush Launched” Automotive World, “First Biobased Coating Hardener for Lightfast Polyurethane Coatings” Chemical Engineering, “Anellotech Announces Scaleup Plans for Bio-Based BTX Production” Renewables Now, “BNDES Grants USD 13m to Brazilian Ethanol Producer”

By Lynn L. Bergeson The European Commission (EC) announced on October 16, 2018, the launch of a new web-based tool called BioWatch. Developed by BIOWAYS, a project funded by the European Union (EU), this new tool expands BIOWAYS’ efforts in raising awareness of biobased products and their social, economic, and environmental benefits. BioWatch consists of “an interactive online platform that provides projects in the bioeconomy sector with a free service to position themselves...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 15, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) held the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards Ceremony at the National Education Association in Washington, D.C. This year, five awards were given to academics, scientists, and business innovators across the biobased industry sector. Promoting environmental and economic benefits of developments in green chemistry, the ACS Green Chemistry Institute hosts this event on an annual basis. Of particular interest in this...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On October 11, 2018, the European Commission (EC) released a statement announcing its new action plan for a sustainable bioeconomy in Europe. The new action plan, originally announced by President Juncker and First Vice-President Timmermans in their letter of intent, aims to “improve and scale up the sustainable use of renewable sources to address global and local challenges such as climate change and sustainable development.” In his remarks, EC Vice-President for...

Now more than ever, chemical industry stakeholders with shared business and advocacy interests are urged to consider collaborating on regulatory, testing, and related advocacy opportunities. Two years post-passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act means the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is well underway with implementation of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).    Industry groups that are already established and...

Des Moines Register, “In Iowa, Trump Says He Kept His E15 Promises, Claims Democrats Would ‘End Ethanol’” Bloomberg, “Gene-Edited Foods Are Coming to Your Plate but Aren’t Being Regulated” inhabitat, “Nuatan Is the Bioplastic That Could Answer the Plastic Pollution Crisis” UPROXX, “This ‘Bio Plastic’ Is 100% Compostable and Poised to Change the World” BiofuelsDigest, “Novozymes’ Yeast Beast in New Release;...

By Lynn L. Bergeson In September 2018, researchers Harmen Willemse, from The Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN), and Dr. Maarten van der Zee, from the Wageningen Food & Biobased Research Center, published a White Paper on “Communicating the bio-based content of products in the EU and the US.” Analyzing how bio-based content information is exchanged between businesses, consumers, and government, the paper aims to address the significant challenges associated with the...

CompositesWorld, “Bio-based composite bridge in The Netherlands” Reuters, “South Africa Looks to Kickstart Its Biofuels Industry” Bioenergy International, “GoodFuels Marine to Supply First Offshore Wind Project with Advanced Biofuels”

By Lynn L. Bergeson Scientists at Indiana University -- Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) partnered on the publication of a study with researchers at Huazong Agricultural University in Wuhan, China, and researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  The study focuses on formerly undiscovered properties of a flower known as Orychophragmus violaceus. Also known as the February orchid, O. violaceus differs from other plant seeds in that it contains unusual fatty acid compounds that...

Borrowing from William Shakespeare … WHAT’S IN A NAME? That which we call a biobased chemical. By any other name would stand as sustainable. And yet, it is the mere name of the biobased chemical that hinders its ability to go to market! Did you know that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is interpreted and applied in ways that often cause new biobased chemicals and their derivatives to be subject to stringent premarket review by EPA? This review often results in the...

gasworld, “Bacteria that Turn Sugar into Hydrogen Being Engineered by Researchers” The Sydney Morning Herald, “Shell-backed Startup Creates Fuel from Carbon Dioxide and Fake Sunlight” Plastics in Packaging, “Dutch Supermarket Launches Bio-based Milk Container” Biofuels Digest, “Agrisoma, United Airlines and World Energy Complete Longest Transatlantic Biojet Flight” Aalto University School of Science, “Bio-based Carbon Improve Biogas...