Researchers Secure Grant to Find Sustainable Uses for Biomass Littering Maine's Forests

In the state of Maine, paper production continues to decline. However, wildfires from low-value wood products that cover forest floors threaten fragile ecosystems.

As a result, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the University of Maine have secured a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to find sustainable uses for biomass, including jet fuel and fish food.

UMass Lowell Associate Professor Hunter Mack commented on the development, saying “It has the potential to create a new bio-economy from waste materials and increases the sustainability of both the transportation and aquaculture sectors.”

Mack and the research team will leverage advanced predictive modeling to examine the biomass conversion process and study the viability of jet fuel produced from forest biomass. The project is associated with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture program.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that the country has the potential to produce 1.1 to 1.5 billion tons of biomass annually.

"The new funding is key to developing creative and sustainable markets for underutilized forest biomass while prioritizing the inclusive values that are important to advancing equitable rural development in Maine,” said Professor Clayton Wheeler, director of UMaine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Institute, spoke about the importance of making something from what was considered nothing.

Mack added in a statement: “If all relevant resources are fully developed, this amount of biomass could potentially meet around 15% of the nation's future energy needs.”