Bill Introduced to Advance Bio-Based Renewable Chemicals

Almost one quarter of each barrel of fossil petroleum is used to produce chemical feedstocks and for other industrial purposes. As the global price of oil soars, so is the cost of these industrial feedstocks. Why not use domestically-produced, renewable biomass instead? Senator Debbie Stabenow’s bill would encourage this.

On March 5, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, introduced her "Grow It Here; Make It Here" initiative , including a bill S. 2155 to promote biobased manufacturing. The bill would amend and strengthen provisions in the Farm Bill energy title Sections 9002 ( Biobased Market Program ), 9003 ( Biorefinery Assistance Program ), and 9008 ( Biomass Research and Development Initiative ). The bill would help advance the development of markets for biobased products, allow federal loan guarantees to be extended for the production of biobased chemicals (as well as advanced biofuels,) and focus biomass research and development on biobased products. The bill is cosponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tom Carper (D-DE), Robert Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Jon Tester (D-MT).

About 23 percent of petroleum consumed in the U.S. is used for industrial purposes, according to the Energy Information Agency . Many applications for which industry uses petroleum-based feedstocks today could be fulfilled by using biomass, according to the Department of Energy Biomass Program and a 2007 article in Science . According to Senator Stabenow’s website, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about four percent of the chemical feedstocks used today by industry are derived from renewable biomass and that increasing this to 20 percent could create 100,000 jobs.

Senator Stabenow’s bill follows a Presidential Memorandum, released February 21 , in which the President ordered federal agencies "to significantly increase Federal procurement of biobased and other sustainable products."