LIGNIN-BASED CARBON FIBER By Jie Luo B.S. Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 2002 M.S. Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 2004 A THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (in Chemical Engineering) The Graduate School The University of Maine May, 2010 Advisory Committee: Joseph M. Genco, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Advisor David J. Neivandt, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Barbara J. W. Cole, Professor of Chemistry Raymond C. Fort, Jr., Professor of Chemistry