[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71786-71787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19605]


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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 Propylene Glycol Phenyl 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 propylene glycol phenyl 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-2024-0044 or propylene glycol phenyl 
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Comments cannot be edited or withdrawn once submitted to the Federal 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 Propylene Glycol Phenyl 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 propylene glycol phenyl 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 propylene 
glycol phenyl 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: Propylene glycol phenyl ether.
    (2) Petitioner: The Dow Chemical Company, an importer and exporter 
of propylene glycol phenyl ether.
    (3) Proposed classification numbers:
    (i) HTSUS number: 2909.49.15.00.

[[Page 71787]]

    (ii) Schedule B number: 2909.49.0000.
    (iii) CAS number: 770-35-4.
    (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, propylene 
glycol phenyl ether is a propylene oxide and phenol based ether-alcohol 
solvent. Propylene glycol phenyl ether, a liquid, is used in a variety 
of applications including coatings and cleaning.
    Propylene glycol phenyl ether is made from propylene, chlorine, 
sodium hydroxide, and benzene. Taxable chemicals constitute 91.00 
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. 
Propylene glycol phenyl ether is made via the alkoxylation process 
(also known as ring opening of an epoxide) using phenol and propylene 
oxide. Propylene oxide is made by hydrochlorination (chlorine 
(Cl2), propylene (C3H6), and sodium 
hydroxide (NaOH)). Phenol is made via the Hock process (sometimes 
called the cumene process). The Hock process has two stages. In stage 
1, benzene (C6H6) is alkylated with propylene 
(C3H6) to make cumene (isopropyl benzene). In 
stage 2, cumene 
(C6H5(C3H7)) is partially 
oxidized to make phenol (C6H5OH) and side product 
dimethyl ketone ((CH3)2CHO).
    Additional information on the production process:
     The propylene glycol phenyl ether alkoxylation reaction 
(phenol + propylene oxide) is base catalyzed, using a small amount of 
metal hydroxide. Once phenoxide is made, it is regenerated following 
conversion to the product in the presence of propylene oxide. 
Regenerated phenoxide in the presence of propylene oxide will 
perpetually react until all propylene oxide is consumed or the reaction 
is halted through the use of controls.
    [cir] Since the amount of metal hydroxide used to produce propylene 
glycol phenyl 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.
    (7) Stoichiometric material consumption equation, based on process 
identified as predominant method of production:

2 C3H6 (propylene) + Cl2 (chlorine) + 
2 NaOH (sodium hydroxide) + C6H6 (benzene) + 
O2 (oxygen) [rarr] 2 NaCl + H2O (water) + 
(CH3)2CO dimethyl ketone + 
C9H12O2 (propylene glycol phenyl 
ether)

    (8) Tax rate calculated by Petitioner, based on Petitioner's 
conversion factors for taxable chemicals used in production of 
substance:
    (i) Tax rate: $13.16 per ton.
    (ii) Conversion factors: 0.55 for propylene, 0.47 for chlorine, 
0.53 for sodium hydroxide, and 0.51 for benzene.
    (9) Public docket number: IRS-2024-0044.

Michael Beker,
Senior Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries), IRS Office of 
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-19605 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P