• Article

Research scientist Nancy Kravit is bioprospecting for microorganisms. In particular, she’s investigating an enzyme that could make the papermaking process easier and more environmentally friendly. The enzyme breaks down ether bonds between hemicellulose and lignin, which in traditional paper manufacturing are chemically removed together, then burned for energy. By, in essence, feeding the hemicellulose to microorganisms, valuable fermentable sugars in hemicellulose can be made into biofuels such as ethanol and provide another revenue stream for paper mills. Kravit, a University of Maine alumna and co-founder of the pioneering biotechnology company Tethys Research LLC, is affiliated with UMaine’s Forest Bioproducts Research Initiative (FBRI). Her research, which has led to the discovery of new genes and a new class of enzymes, is funded largely by a Department of Energy Small Business Innovation Research award to Tethys Research and a grant from the Maine Technology Institute.