- TIMBERBIZ.COM.AU - A La Une - 30/Jan 23:57

New wood processes from Fiji on trial in Australia

Research in Fiji led by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research has developed new wood product engineering processes now being commercially trialled in both Fiji and Australia. Source: Timberbiz The engineering innovation has come from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI) Forest Product Innovation team, which has been working with partners in Fiji and Australia on a process to create timber veneers from coconut palms. The new veneer process recovers double the amount of timber of traditional sawn timber processes. It also requires less investment in equipment and uses less energy than conventional veneer processes. Project leader Dr Rob McGavin at QDPI said while veneer technology is used for many different timbers, his team has refined the traditional process primarily in response to the challenges of turning coconut palms into timber. Fiji has about 40,000 hectares of senile coconut palms – trees that may be 50 years old or more and are no longer productive. Left in the ground, the trees are susceptible to pests and diseases that can infect productive palms. But there has been limited incentive to remove senile palms and replant with either new coconut palms or other crops. If the palms hold value as a timber resource, it may help subsidise replanting, bringing more land back into production and increasing income opportunities for local smallholders. With this objective in mind, ACIAR has supported coconut timber-related research in Fiji for more than a decade. Two previous projects first confirmed that coconut palms could be used as a source of wood and then developed a production process that has worked effectively in a laboratory and then at a semi-commercial level. Having overcome the technical challenges of production, the current ACIAR-supported project is focused on the commercial adoption of new engineered wood product manufacturing processes. The project team is working with partners in both Fiji and Australia to scale up the technology for commercial use and to develop marketable products. As the manufacture of engineered wood products from coconut palms potentially creates a new industry, the project is also identifying training and employment opportunities for both women and men in Fiji and is assessing likely social impacts. Dr McGavin said coconut palms are not actually trees, but a form of grass. ‘The outside of senile coconut palms is incredibly hard, similar to ironbark, while the inside core is as soft as balsawood. The palms themselves are usually smaller in diameter than trees selected for milling. These characteristics mean sawn timber is a challenging option for coconut palms.’ Peeling the palms to create veneers has proved an attractive alternative; however, the conventional veneer technique uses steel spindles in either end of the log to hold it in place while it is peeled. Spindles have trouble gripping the soft core of the palms, and the size of the spindles means not enough timber can be recovered from each palm to make the process economically viable. Undeterred, the QDPI research team has adopted an alternative drive system that turns the palms as they are peeled without the need for spindles, allowing almost all the palm to be recovered as veneer. Another step in the veneer process is the heat treatment of logs before peeling, usually done by steaming the logs or putting them in hot water baths. Both processes require investment in expensive infrastructure, while hot water baths and steam create potential safety risks for staff. The new process developed through the ACIAR-supported project uses a hot water shower, which is less expensive to set up, reduces the amount of water needed and al-lows that water to be recycled. It also reduces the energy required to heat the water and reduces safety risks. Dr McGavin said this new heating method is still being trialled. One Australian company will launch the new shower-based system this year, while a partner mill in Fiji is trialling a hybrid system, as it already has steaming capacity in place. “In Fiji, most of the mills are operating under capacity, with reduced access to timber, as a result of changes to government forestry policy that incorporate additional sustainability and environmental considerations. To generate commercial interest, we need to demonstrate profitability, so we’re doing a lot of financial modelling that considers the cost of harvesting, transport and production locations, and potential products,” Dr Rob McGavin, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, said. ‘We are closely partnering with the Fiji industry, across the supply chain, from the farmers or organisations that own and manage coconut plantations through to harvesting and haulage contractors, the existing veneering industry in Fiji, and potential end users as well – builders and furniture manufacturers, the people who fit out buildings such as hotel resorts.’ Dr McGavin said there has been a considerable exchange of expertise between Fijian and Australian partners who are interested in engineered wood products, rather than coco-nut palms specifically. In Fiji, partners include the Pacific Community (SPC), the Fiji Ministry of Forestry, Fiji National University, University of the South Pacific, as well as industry members including the Fiji Hardwood Board, and veneer import industry and local timber mills. Australian partners with ACIAR include QDPI, the Australian Government’s Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Plus Program, University of Queensland, Griffith University, and industry members the Big River Group, Jowat Adhesives, Robertson Bros Sawmills and Eco Cottages. Mr Tevita Bulai, Executive Director of Research and Development at the Ministry of Forestry Fiji, said giving the palms some value at the end of their productive life may encourage more landholders to replant with coconut palms, rather than other crops such as kava. And this will be essential if Fiji is to establish a long-term timber industry supported by palms as a timber resource. “It will be good to explore expanding this technology to other Pacific countries such as Tonga and Samoa, so that we can join forces to create a larger resource,” the Executive Director of Research and Development in the Ministry of Forestry Fiji Mr Tevita Bulai said. “We also have options with […]