A paper about bio-fuel research written by University of Wisconsin-Superior chemistry professors Dr. Jim Lane and Dr. Michael Waxman has been accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society.

The paper, titled "Synthesis and Characterization of New Biodiesels Derived From Oils of Plants Growing in Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota," will appear in the peer-reviewed journal, which is one of the most prestigious journals in the area of oil chemistry and biodiesel fuel.  

The paper describes the first results of a three-year effort by Lane and Waxman to identify plants from northern Wisconsin and Minnesota that are capable of producing biodiesel fuel with good low-temperature properties. Some of the biodiesels the scientists produced do not freeze down to the temperatures of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit and below. 

In addition to Waxman and Lane, five undergraduate chemistry majors share credit as co-authors of the paper. They are:  

• Kurt Hukriede, who graduated in 2011;
  
  
• Adam Jersett, currently enrolled;
  
  
• Damodar Koirala, graduated in 2010, now attending graduate school at Purdue University;
  
  
• Dan Levings, graduated in 2008 and attending graduate school at the University of Minnesota;
  
  
• Aaron Stewart, graduated in 2010 and now attending graduate school at Oregon State University.
  

The bio-fuel research project at UW-Superior is aimed at developing manufacturing technologies that can produce bio-JP8 fuel from domestic resources. Scientists from a private sector company  and UW-Superior's Department of Natural Sciences and the Lake Superior Research Institute are analyzing plants from northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota to determine whether the properties that enable plants to survive the region's winter temperatures make them suitable for creating bio-fuels that perform well at low temperature.