About the Technology Research Center
The Technology Research Center (TRC) is a 40,000-square-foot facility, located on the grounds of ND Paper in Old Town, Maine. Dedicated to validation, demonstration, and commercialization support for bioproduct development, the center is a one-stop shop for processing and analysis of technologies at an industrially relevant scale.
Mailing and Contact Address: Amy Luce, Manager, Jenness Hall 143, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04468 Email: amy.e.luce@maine.edu Phone: 207-581-1453
See our Pilot Plant in action
Technical Capabilities and Processing Equipment
The Technology Research Center (TRC), in Old Town, Maine, is a fee-for-service facility with several pilot-scale unit operations dedicated to advancing developing fuel, chemical and advanced material technologies for processing woody biomass into various bioproducts. The facility meets all necessary approved environmental permitting standards, accepts any cellulosic feedstock and features state-of-the-art process control and process information systems.
- Chemical and physical testing for pilot-scale campaigns
- Gas and liquid chromatography
- Atomic and molecular spectroscopy
- Wet chemical characterization
- Analytical method development
- In-process and final product material characterization
- Multiple-unit operation
- Biomass size reduction, screening, pretreatment, extraction and cooking
- Fermentation
- Chemical reaction
- Pelletization
- Liquid-liquid extraction
- Distillation
Learn more about our equipment and capabilities.