EWPs to Maximise Australian Wood Fibre Recovery and Utilisation

Project Description

This resource driven project aims to evaluate pathways to maximise Australian forest wood fibre recovery and facilitate improved efficiency of Australian forest resources in engineered wood products (EWPs) for construction and other uses. Recognising that existing forest resources are unable to meet the current domestic demand, and access to imports are expected to become more competitive, this project will evaluate processing systems and new product opportunities not currently available from Australian manufacturers. The project will explore ‘how we can do more with less’ i.e. how increasing timber construction projects can be supported with domestically produced products.

Objectives

A review of alternative and innovative EWPs, new and emerging processing and manufacturing systems that provide new opportunities to maximise Australian forest resource recovery and utilisation value.
Product and process concept development on prioritised opportunities identified from the initial review
Upscaling and performance evaluation of selected EWPs at prototype and semi-industrial scale that will be used to determine and demonstrate commercial suitability.
Evaluation of market access opportunities to support industry adoption.

Targeted industry focused outcomes

The research intends to benefit the whole forestry and construction industry supply chain by supporting market access and commercialisation opportunities for Australian forest resources.

Targeted industry focused outcomes include:

New recommended process, product and market options for Australian forest resources that significantly increase recovery– based on the latest technological, product, market development and application.

The research impact will be measured:

Through significant advancement in the development and commercialisation of new market-ready product options for Australian forest resources.
Through significant increase in product recovery from Australian forest resources.
Via new academic and industry-relevant knowledge on the wood properties and utilisation potential of various Australian forest resources and wood feedstocks.

Objectives/Deliverables

Report 1 - a) Review and analysis of Australian forest resource and wood feedstocks to determine where the best opportunities are for improving recovery, modifying conversion systems and pursuing new EWPs. b) Review and analysis of alternative and innovative EWPs, new and emerging processing and manufacturing systems that provide new opportunities to maximise Australian forest resource recovery and utilisation value.
Report 2 – a) Report on the product and process concept development on prioritised opportunities. b) Report on the upscaling and performance evaluation of selected EWPs at prototype and semi-industrial scale.
Report 3 – Report on market access opportunities to support industry adoption of the selected EWPs.
Report 4 – Final Report on project outcomes and recommendations.

Project Leader/s

Rob McGavin

Project Leader; Partner Investigator

QLD Department of Primary Industries

Project Investigators

Rob McGavin

Project Leader; Partner Investigator

QLD Department of Primary Industries

Mateo Gutierrez

Partner Investigator; Executive Board Member

AKD Softwoods

Kim Harris

Affiliate Investigators

AKD Softwoods

Gavin Matthew

Executive Board Member

Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA)

Harrison Brooke

Partner Investigator

Engineered Wood Products Association of Australasia (EWPAA)

Simon Dorries

Partner Investigator

Responsible wood

Joe Gattas

Theme Leader - Innovative Solutions; Node Leader - Manufacturing Innovation & Value-Chain Innovation

The University of Queensland

Fabiano Ximenes

Theme Leader - Transformative Benefits; Partner Investigator

NSW Department of Primary Industries

Project