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 food additive, will be fermented
into organic acids, such as acetic and butyric. The acids then will be
chemically upgraded into fuel alcohols, such as ethanol and butanol.
Industrial collaborators in the project include Old Town Fuel and Fiber,
a nearby kraft pulp mill in Old Town, Maine, and FMC BioPolymer of
Rockland, Maine, the only seaweed carrageenan manufacturer in North
America. Chondrus crispus, the seaweed known as Irish moss, is a source
of carrageenan.
UMaine Today Magazine
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