Chemical Engineering July 2012 - 14

EPA BIODIESEL NUMBERS
Newsbriefs
FDA reform bill passes U.S. Congress
I
n late May, both the U.S.
Senate and House passed
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) Reform
Act of 2012 (H.R. 5651).
The legislation is aimed at
better protecting the nation's
drug supply.
H.R. 5651 includes authorization
of the Generic
Drug User Fee Action
(GDUFA), legislation that
would improve the drug
supply chain by requiring
inspection of all foreign and
domestic drug production
facilities. Under the terms
of GDUFA, the generic
drug industry would pay
approximately $1.5 billion
over five years in return
for faster and more predictable
review of generic drug
applications, which should
help reduce drug shortages
and bring drugs to market
faster. The legislation
would allow the FDA to
perform inspections on a
risk basis, focusing on the
facilities posing the greatest
risk to drug safety.
Sandia opens cybersecurity
research center
S
andia National Laboratory
(Albuquerque,
N.M.; www.sandia.gov)
has just opened its new
Cybersecurity Technologies
Research Laboratory
(CTRL) at the Sandia facility
in Livermore, Calif.
" With CTRL, we can
run experiments and talk
more freely about a wide
range of cyber research
activities, and we can do
so with a variety of U.S.
and international collaborators
but without
some of the unrelated
restrictions that are often
associated with a national
laboratory, " says Jim
Costa, senior manager of
computational sciences
and analysis at Sandia's
California site.
" At the same time, we
can do these things in a
uniquely controlled environment,
where we know
what activities are taking
place and we can monitor
who and what else is in
the building, " he adds.
Specifically, CTRL
aims to do the following:
develop the science and
computing foundation
necessary for robust cyber
security R&D; develop
relationships to help understand
the full range of
technical threat concerns
facing industry, government
(nonclassified) and
academia; develop, test
and help implement cybersecurity
approaches in
real-world situations; promote
disciplines that support
the advancement of
cybersecurity; and develop
political and social awareness
of the real, imminent
threat and the consequences
posed by cyber
exploits and attacks.
hrough its Design for
the Environment (DfE)
Alternatives Assessment
Plan, the EPA has released
a final alternatives assessment
report identifying
eight safer alternatives to
nonylphenol ethoxylates
(NPEs), which are widely
used in industry as surfactants
and wetting agents
for detergents, cleaners, carriers
and other commercial
uses. When released into
the environment, NPEs and
NPE derivatives can de14
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM JULY 2012
he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA;
Washington, D.C.; www.epa.gov) says that 94.5
million gallons of biodiesel were produced in April,
reporting year-to-date production of 331 million gallons
through the end of April. Biodiesel production is
reported under the EPA's biomass-based diesel category
in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
Last year, the biodiesel industry set a new production
record of nearly 1.1 billion gallons, supporting
more than 39,000 jobs across the country. Made from an
increasingly diverse mix of resources, such as recycled
cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats, biodiesel is the
first and only EPA-designated advanced biofuel that
is produced on a commercial scale in the U.S. It can be
used in existing diesel engines without modification.
To view the latest figures, visit www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/
rfsdata/2012.emts.htm.
T
Plant-based PET collaborative formed
T
he Coca-Cola Co., Ford
Motor Co., H.J. Heinz
Co., Nike Inc. and Procter
& Gamble recently announced
the formation of
the Plant PET Technology
Collaborative (PTC),
a strategic working group
focused on accelerating
the development and use
of 100% plant-based PET
(polyethylene terephthalate)
materials and fiber in
their products.
The new collaborative
was formed to support new
technologies in an effort
to move from the current
material, which is partially
made from plants, to material
made entirely from
plants. PTC members are
committed to researching
and developing commercial
grade slowly and be highly
toxic to aquatic animals.
The report provides
information on the availability
of safer alternatives,
as well as the DfE's
hazard evaluation method
for surfactants and progress
to date toward adopting
safer surfactants.
Using hazard-based crisolutions
for plant-based
PET plastic, and will aim to
drive the establishment of
common methodologies and
standards for the use of
plant-based plastic, including
life cycle analyses and
universal terminology.
PET is a durable, lightweight
plastic used by PTC
member companies in a
variety of products and materials,
including bottles,
apparel, footwear and automotive
fabric and carpet.
The collaborative builds
upon the success of CocaCola's
PlantBottle packaging
technology, which is
partially made from plants
and has demonstrated a
lower environmental impact
when compared to traditional
PET plastic bottles.
EPA promotes safer nonylphenol ethoxylate alternatives
T
teria, EPA evaluated hundreds
of chemicals for biodegradability
and potential
effects to aquatic organisms.
DfE's Alternatives Assessment
Program is
intended to help industry
choose safer chemicals and
offers a basis for informed
decision-making by providing
a detailed comparison
of the potential human and
environmental effects of
chemical alternatives. To
date, the DfE program has
labeled more than 2,700
safer products, including
detergents that contain
only safer surfactants and
other chemicals. ■
Scott Jenkins
http://www.epa.gov http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/ http://www.sandia.gov http://WWW.CHE.COM
Chemical Engineering July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering July 2012
