Mainebiz reported on a $10 million federal grant awarded to University of Maine researchers and their colleges to investigate using low-value wood to make sustainable jet fuel and fish feed. In partnership with UMass Lowell, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Arbiom, researchers aim to turn wood waste into valuable products and improve forest management.
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Millions of pounds of low-value wood, such as small diameter trees and branches, have been left behind in Maine’s forests due to the decline in pulp and paper production, stymied by drought, fire suppression and dropping demand. While there are very few existing market opportunities for this low-quality woody biomass, University of Maine researchers believe […]
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Clayton Wheeler, a University of Maine professor of chemical engineering, was appointed as the new director of the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI), effective July 1. He succeeds Hemant Pendse, who founded FBRI in 2010. Read the full story on the UMaine Research website.
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In an article about Biofine Developments Northeast announcing its partnership with the Town of Lincoln to develop a biofuels refinery on the former site of the Lincoln Pulp & Tissue Mill, News Center Maine and Mainebiz noted that Biofine has demonstrated the technology over the course of many years at the Forest Bioproducts Research Institute […]
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University of Maine faculty, staff and students will present at and be involved in a number of events at the Maine Science Festival (MSF), a program of the Maine Discovery Museum in Bangor and will include more than 70 events and activities, that will take place March 22–26. Additional UMaine presenters — particularly those involved […]
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Takeout food is more popular than ever, but waste created by single-use plastic containers is environmentally harmful. University of Maine engineers have created a grease-proof, water-resistant container from recyclable cellulose nanocomposites that could be the next big thing in takeout technology. The demand for takeout, fast food and ready-made food has created an enormous plastic […]
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Partnership with Kiefel brings state-of-the-art fiber thermoforming machine to Orono The University of Maine Process Development Center (PDC), long recognized for its expertise in processing fiber for pulp and paper applications, is now home to new equipment that will advance renewable packaging research significantly for Maine’s forest products industry. Kiefel — an international leader in […]
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The FOR/Maine Coalition has been named by the Economic Development Administration (EDA) as a finalist in the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The University of Maine was awarded the $500,000 grant to support the coalition to further develop and scale the forest bioeconomy in Maine and will advance to Phase 2 of the […]
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The Bangor Daily News shared a University of Maine news release showcasing a research collaboration between UMaine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) and local K–12 teachers. The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program makes research accessible to the community while teaching STEM principles to teachers and elementary and high school students.
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This year, when eighth graders Ian Blackwell and Nik Horton were looking for a project for the Maine State Middle School Science & Engineering Fair, they spotted a spiffy varnished wood box tricked out with bracing and hardware in their science classroom at the James F. Doughty School in Bangor, and asked their teacher what […]
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