Variability in the forest resource increases the risk to both forest growers and processors. Understanding the causes of variability of wood traits, and therefore promoting the development of superior resources and products is the major challenge in plantation forestry.
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Renewable and sustainable energy is becoming more and more important in meeting future energy demand, mitigation of fossil fuels depletion and reduction of green house gas emissions. This R&D programme aims to adapt and develop the most advanced thermo-chemical processing technologies to produce transport liquid fuels from biomass. The key technologies include gasification and gas cleaning for production of hydrogen-rich syngas followed by Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis of the syngas to liquid fuel. The goals of the research are to increase conversion efficiency, reduce production costs and minimize negative impacts on environment. The ultimate objective is thus to increase transport bio-fuel supply using New Zealand renewable energy resources of woody biomass, agricultural residues and bio-solid wastes.
Considering the intrinsic nature of the biomass with wide distribution and low density, three processing routes are under development including gasification of entire biomass, co-gasification of biomass with coal, and densification of biomass by pyrolysis for gasification. The programme also develops new biomass resources of herbaceous species to ensure sufficient biomass supply.
Contact: Shusheng Pang
We are working in collaboration with NZ Dryland Forests Innovation to establish a sustainable naturally-durable hardwood resource in New Zealand.
Research activities include:
- a breeding programme to enhance productivity and timber quality
- growth and yield modelling
- forest health
- wood products
Contact: Clemens Altaner
Commercial forestry is underpinned by breeding programmes. These not only consider forest growth and health traits but also wood quality traits. Planting genetically improved trees produces better wood, ensuring product quality without costly mitigation during timber processing. We collaborate with a range of commercial tree breeders to improve the profitability of various plantation species.
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