[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71788-71789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19602]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Superfund Tax on Chemical Substances; Request To Modify List of 
Taxable Substances; Notice of Filing for Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl 
Ether

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice of filing and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice of filing announces that a petition has been filed 
requesting that diethylene glycol monomethyl ether be added to the list 
of taxable substances. This notice of filing also requests comments on 
the petition. This notice of filing is not a determination that the 
list of taxable substances is modified.

DATES: Written comments and requests for a public hearing must be 
received on or before November 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit public comments or 
requests for a public hearing relating to this petition electronically 
via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov 
(indicate public docket number IRS-2024-0038 or diethylene glycol 
monomethyl ether) by following the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments cannot be edited or withdrawn once submitted to the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal. Alternatively, comments and requests for a 
public hearing may be mailed to: Internal Revenue Service, Attn: 
CC:PA:01:PR (Notice of Filing for Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether), 
Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. 
All comments received are part of the public record and subject to 
public disclosure. All comments received will be posted without change 
to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. 
You should submit only information that you wish to make publicly 
available. If a public hearing is scheduled, notice of the time and 
place for the hearing will be published in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Camille Edwards Bennehoff at (202) 
317-6855 (not a toll-free number).

Request To Add Substance to the List

    (a) Overview. A petition was filed pursuant to Rev. Proc. 2022-26 
(2022-29 I.R.B. 90), as modified by Rev. Proc. 2023-20 (2023-15 I.R.B. 
636), requesting that diethylene glycol monomethyl ether be added to 
the list of taxable substances under section 4672(a) of the Internal 
Revenue Code (List). The petition requesting the addition of diethylene 
glycol monomethyl ether to the List is based on weight and contains the 
information detailed in paragraph (b) of this document. The information 
is provided for public notice and comment pursuant to section 9 of Rev. 
Proc. 2022-26. The publication of petition information in this notice 
of filing is not a determination and does not constitute Treasury 
Department or IRS confirmation of the accuracy of the information 
published.
    (b) Petition Content.
    (1) Substance name: Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether.
    (2) Petitioner: The Dow Chemical Company, an exporter of diethylene 
glycol monomethyl ether.
    (3) Proposed classification numbers:
    (i) HTSUS number: 2909.44.01.10.
    (ii) Schedule B number: 2909.49.0000.
    (iii) CAS number: 111-77-3.
    (4) Petition filing dates:
    (i) Petition filing date for purposes of making a determination: 
June 13, 2024.
    (ii) Petition filing date for purposes of section 11.02 of Rev. 
Proc. 2022-26, as modified by section 3 of Rev. Proc. 2023-20: July 1, 
2022.
    (5) Description from petition: According to the petition, 
diethylene glycol monomethyl ether is an ethylene based glycol ether 
solvent. Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether is a liquid used in a 
variety of applications including coatings and cleaning.
    Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether is made from ethylene and 
methane. Taxable chemicals constitute 59.00 percent by weight of the 
materials used to produce this substance.
    (6) Process identified in petition as predominant method of 
production of substance: Glycol ethers are predominantly produced by 
reacting an epoxide (typically ethylene oxide or propylene oxide) with 
an alcohol; this reaction process is referred to as alkoxylation. 
Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether 
(C5H12O3) is produced by the 
alkoxylation process using methanol (CH3OH) and 2 
equivalents of ethylene oxide (C2H4O). Methanol 
is made from syngas (carbon monoxide and dihydrogen). Carbon monoxide 
(CO) and dihydrogen (H2) are made by steam-methane reforming 
(CH4 and H2O). Ethylene oxide (EO) is made from 
oxidizing ethylene (C2H4).
    Additional information on the production process:
     The diethylene glycol monomethyl ether reaction (methanol 
+ EO) is base catalyzed, using a small amount of metal hydroxide to 
produce methoxide.
    [cir] Since the amount of metal hydroxide used to produce propylene 
glycol methyl ether is very small, the metal hydroxide has been 
excluded from the stoichiometric material consumption equation; 
including the metal hydroxide would lead to a distorted conversion 
factor.
     Once methoxide is made, it is regenerated following 
conversion to the product in the presence of EO as follows:
    [cir] Methoxide + 2 EO [rarr] diethylene glycol monomethyl ether-
alkoxide
    [cir] Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether-alkoxide + methanol [rarr] 
diethylene glycol monomethyl ether + methoxide (goes back to 
participate in the reaction above).
     Regenerated methoxide in the presence of EO will 
perpetually react until all EO is consumed or the reaction is halted 
through the use of controls.
    (7) Stoichiometric material consumption equation, based on process 
identified as predominant method of production:
2 C2H4 (ethylene) + O2 (oxygen) + 
CH4 (methane) + H2O (water) [rarr] H2 
(hydrogen) + C5H12O3 (diethylene 
glycol monomethyl ether)
    (8) Tax rate calculated by Petitioner, based on Petitioner's 
conversion factors for taxable chemicals used in production of 
substance:
    (i) Tax rate: $5.47 per ton.

[[Page 71789]]

    (ii) Conversion factors: 0.47 for ethylene, 0.13 for methane.
    (9) Public docket number: IRS-2024-0038.

Michael Beker,
Senior Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries), IRS Office of 
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-19602 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P