News

Two New Bioplastics Projects Put FBRI In A Lead

This opportunity to utilize biomass wood for polymers in leading consumer products is an important new strategic direction for our efforts at the University of Maine.” The Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) is now active in two Sustainable Bioplastics projects in collaboration with consortia of private companies and academic collaborators to conduct joint research and […]

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FBRI Wood Extracts Attract National Attention

“This unique $250,000 pilot scale wood extraction facility was made possible by the NSF EPSCoR grant that helped us scale-up our technologies so business folks can get design data at industrially relevant scale of operations.” says Hemant Pendse, chair of UMaine’s Chemical and Biological Engineering Department and managing director of the university’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute. […]

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UMaine Collaborating With New Hampshire Entities on Biomass Initiative

The University of Maine is part of a recently announced collaboration with New Hampshire-based Itaconix LLC, which has received a $1.8 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative.The award, announced at UNH, will fund efforts by Itaconix, in partnership with […]

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UMaine Researcher Looking to Reduce Petroleum Dependence Publishes Book

ORONO, Maine – Reducing the country’s dependence on petroleum-based products has become a priority and it’s something that University of Maine analytical chemist Martin Lawoko works toward achieving every day as part of UMaine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute. Recently, he published a 68-page book about his research entitled “Lignin Carbohydrate Complexes in Softwood and Chemical […]

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FBRI Funds Support Grant Partner Research and Outreach Projects

The “Forest Bioproducts Research Institute,” funded by the National Science Foundation, has a goal to “provide strategic programs and opportunities that will solidify and strengthen Maine’s R&D capacity and competitiveness in the area of forest bioproducts research.” For more information on the EPSCoR awards process go tohttp://umaine.edu/epscor/ 2007 EPSCoR Grant Partners Maine Center for Toxicology […]

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FBRI faculty awarded grant for Acidogenic Digestion research

With a three-year, $712,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy, University of Maine chemical engineers Peter van Walsum and Clay Wheeler are conducting research to convert pulp mill and marine algae processing plant by-products into high-quality biofuel. Hardwood extract from the kraft pulping process and seaweed by-products from the extraction of carrageenan, a natural […]

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FBRI faculty awarded grant for Acidogenic Digestion research

With a three-year, $712,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy, University of Maine chemical engineers Peter van Walsum and Clay Wheeler are conducting research to convert pulp mill and marine algae processing plant by-products into high-quality biofuel. Hardwood extract from the kraft pulping process and seaweed by-products from the extraction of carrageenan, a natural […]

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FBRI receives $4.8million for proposed FBRI Technology Center

Governor John E. Baldacci and Maine Technology Institute (MTI) President Betsy Biemann today announced that the MTI Board of Directors has approved a total of $30 million in awards to 14 applicants across Maine. Legislators, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner John Richardson, and a number of representatives from the organizations receiving the […]

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