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Around the Campus
Researchers Discover
New Chemical Process
for Producing Biofuel
Treetops and limbs left as waste
by the forest products industry,
along with municipal solid
waste, agricultural waste, and
construction waste may be transformed
into a hydrocarbon fuel oil, thanks to a new
process developed at the University of
Maine. M. Clayton Wheeler, associate
professor of chemical and biological engineering,
and undergraduate students in his
lab have discovered a chemical process that
can turn these waste products into biofuel.
The process, thermal deoxygenation
(TDO), will work on the cellulose found in
wood or substances that contain cellulose
or carbohydrates.
Researchers used grocery store waste
such as banana peels, cardboard boxes, and
shelving to successfully make a batch of the
fuel. Since the fuel does not require an
uncontaminated cellulose source, the TDO
process and its resulting oil are less expensive
to produce than a purified source
would require.
The fuel has properties that make it
suitable for use in a number of fuel tanks
and pipelines. Further refining would be
required to upgrade it for use as transportation
fuel.
Men in canoes and a bateau on South Branch Lake, Maine,
ca. 1900, photo courtesy of the Maine Folklife Center.
UMaine Collaborates with Library of Congress
The University of Maine and the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center
have entered into an agreement that will allow for the preservation of an invaluable
collection held at UMaine’s Folklife Center. The collection, known as the
Northeast Archives of Folklore and History, was developed by the late,
legendary UMaine professor Edward “Sandy” Ives over the course of 50 years. It documents
the history and traditions of fishermen, loggers, mill workers, and diverse people
living in Maine, New England, and the Canadian Maritime Provinces.
The collaboration will enable the collection to be preserved at optimal conditions. The
Library of Congress will digitize the collection, which will greatly expand access to the
audio files, video files, photographs, and other materials. Digital forms of the collection
will remain at the Folklife Center.
“This is an acquisition not just for the Library of Congress, but it is an acquisition for
the nation,” said David Taylor ’74, a former student of Ives who is head of research and
programs at the Library of Congress. “It is a national treasure for all Americans to use to
better understand the regional culture of the Northeastern United States and Maritime
Provinces of Canada.”
Paige Case ‘11, who earned a degree in chemical engineering, holds a
bottle of biofuel which she helped develop while working in the
laboratory of UMaine chemical and biological engineering professor
M. Clayton Wheeler.
8 MAINE Alumni Magazine