A ground-breaking project that could transform low-value forest residues and sub-optimum quality logs into viable, high-value engineered wood construction and appearance grade products is in fast-forward at a Brisbane research precinct, reported Jim Bowden this flashback story to February 2017.
Lifting the value of forest resources es by developing new products for Australian and export wood markets has enthused the project team at the DAF Salisbury Research Facility.
“Leading industry innovators and end-users from across the forest and forest product sectors will participate in all stages of the project to ensure developed products are market-ready and economically feasible to produce,” project leader Dr Rob McGavin said.
The Salisbury project will deliver a clear understanding of the ‘resource-based’ technical and manufacturing requirements for delivering new EWPs and market opportunities for under-valued and currently underutilised plantation and residual native forest resources, providing major opportunities for enhanced profitability and productivity for the Australian forest industry. The project has strong support and participation from public and private native and plantation resource managers as well as leading sawmill and veneer/EWP processors.
Forest growers, in many cases, are experiencing traditional market sector decline or are not implementing best practice management techniques due to lack of viable processing or market options for lower-grade resources.
This project will help remove these barriers allowing primary producers to achieve maximum returns from all the resources they manage.
“The project will deliver growth to the whole forest industry value-chain,” Dr McGavin said.
“Opening up new markets, developing new products and adopting new technologies will provide profitable opportunities for a wide range of low-grade wood resources to be converted into high performance EWPs,” he said.
“These research outcomes will maximise the profitability of the forest industry with significant benefits for all stakeholders.”
The DAF research team at Salisbury has trialled alternative methods for processing small logs, improving recovery rates by six times compared to traditional sawing. These methods have not been tested across the range of available forest resources and could assist industry in maximising recovery and market potential.
This project will determine the profitability of the new technologies through an economic analysis and market feasibility study.
Project partners include Parkside Group (Queensland’s largest hardwood sawmiller); Hurfords Wholesale (hardwood and cypress); Austral Plywoods (high-value hoop pine plywood); Big River Group (hardwood and softwood plywood); Engineered Wood Products Association Australasia; Timber Queensland; HQPlantations; University of Sunshine Coast; Wood Products Victoria; Forest and Wood Products Australia; and Simon Dorries, CEO, Australian Forestry Standard Ltd (technical steering committee independent chair).
Project funding is provided by the Forest and Wood Products Australia, DAF Horticulture and Forestry Science, Queensland Forest and Timber Industry RD&E Fund and the Big River Group.
The DAF research team: includes Rob McGavin (project leader), Dr Bill Leggate (senior research scientist), Dr Henri Bailleres (IFP team leader), John Huth (principal forest technician) and Eric Littee (research assistant).
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$12m log supply deal on pellets
In this flashback story to November 2007, the Forest Products Commission has signed a $12 million contract to supply low grade plantation pine logs to Plantation Energy Ltd, a flashback story to November 2007 reports.
The low-grade logs are a by-product of an existing FPC operation to thin and export logs from 3500 ha of radiata pine planted around Albany in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Plantation Energy executive director Gavin Harper said the company was currently working on constructing Australia’s first industrial scale timber fuel pellet plant, scheduled for completion early next year, at Albany’s Mirambeena timber precinct. The finished fuel pellets will be exported for domestic and industrial heating.
FPC general manager Dr Paul Biggs said the new contract would help increase profitability of the Albany radiata plantation operations for all parties: landowners, harvesting and transportation contractors, the FPC, and Plantation Energy.
“In any form of primary production, it’s always important to minimise wastage and extract the best possible value from the resource,” Dr Biggs said.
“Finding a way to add value to this low grade resource to manufacture and export a renewable energy fuel product is better for the environment and at the same time it will help the entire plantation industry become more profitable,” he said.
“This is an excellent example of the FPC partnering with industry to produce a win/win/win for the triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social sustainability.”
Mr Harper said Plantation Energy had been developing the fuel pellet concept at Albany for several years before formally launching the company in 2006.
“The new plant will bring total investment of more than $20 million to the Albany region, with significant further investment planned in other regions.”
The new plant will create around 12-15 full time permanent jobs in Albany, with additional short-term positions during the construction phase. The operation will also provide employment to local contractors supporting the plantation industry in the Great Southern region with the associated general economic benefits to local suppliers and service industries.
Gavin Harper said the use of fuel pellets sourced from sustainably managed plantations instead of fossil fuels would make a significant contribution to the global reduction of carbon emissions.
