The Sustainable and Renewable Forest Products Group creates knowledge and builds capability in the innovative uses of sustainably-managed timber resources for high-performance timber products.
Wood is the most renewable and sustainable material on the planet which provides both environmental and performance benefits. Thus, by ensuring sustainable forest practices and regenerating this natural product there are real possibilities to significantly improve the environmental credentials of the building and construction industry by choosing timber in the built environment. The Group works closely with architects, engineers, and other professionals to provide sustainable solutions for structural and non-structural applications.
Through national and international research collaborations in Australia, South-East Asia, Papua New Guinea and Europe, the Group is leading or is involved in multiple projects in the field of value-adding to plantation timber resources.
Our research addresses the following issues:
- Utilisation of young plantation timbers to enhance value-adding through the development of high-value wood products and engineered wood products
- Innovative processing and manufacturing technologies
- Wood waste reduction and waste utilisation
- Wood products performance in various environmental conditions
- Value-chain analysis for plantation wood products.
For more than 15 years, the Sustainable and Renewable Forest Products Group has been actively involved in international aid program initiatives with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), with projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Papua New Guinea to a total value of $9.3 million. The Group has developed a unique expertise in developing innovative wood processing industries to enhance markets for planted timber resources. ACIAR projects are an important part of the Group’s work and the vision is to maintain its important role in assisting developing countries to further enhance their teaching and R&D in wood science and to support their industries in adopting innovative wood processing and manufacturing technologies.
The Sustainable and Renewable Forest Products Group has been very successful in attracting externally funded international students with a high rate of successful completion. The Group will continue working with postgraduate students working on innovative research projects.
Research gallery
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Prof. Barbara Ozarska with researchers from the University of Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, exchanging on how forests can be managed efficiently to produce the wood quality desired by manufacturers. Photo taken by Dr Kris Sugiyanto, Forest Research and Development Agency (FOERDIA), Bogor, Indonesia. -
ACIAR project FST/2016/151 Advancing enhanced wood manufacturing industries in Laos and Australia. Project researchers from the Faculty of Forestry, the National University of Laos, Lao PDR, conducting wood recovery study for plantation eucalypt. Photo taken by Benoit Belleville. -
Dr Benoit Belleville providing training to researchers at the Forest Research Institute, Papua New Guinea, on testing mechanical properties of PNG timbers. Photo taken by Mr Gerry Harris. -
Prof. Barbara Ozarska during a project’s visit to Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. Photo taken by Braden Jenkin, Sylva Systems Pty Ltd. -
Improving the performance, durability and designs flexibility of hardwood-based housing components for outdoor and indoor applications through enhancing bonding and structural performance of hardwood products based on solid wood. Dr Benoit Belleville laminating wood components with research assistants Kristopher Orlowski and Aruna Ukwatta. Photo taken by Prof. Barbara Ozarska. -
Prof Barbara Ozarska discussing wood waste reduction and waste utilisation during a visit at Bio Gro, Dandenong, Victoria. Photo taken by Benoit Belleville. -
Dr Benoit Belleville providing training to students at the National University of Laos, Lao PDR, on engineered wood products manufacturing. -
Identifying the next generation of environmentally-friendly bio-based composite products made from alternative lignocellulosic sources such as agricultural and forestry by-products. Photo taken by Mr Johannes Ferhmann. -
Dr Benoit Belleville and researchers at the National University of Laos, Lao PDR, assessing the potential of fast-growing high-yielding pulpwood from managed eucalypt stands for engineered wood products.
More on our research activities
Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) projects
- Advancing enhanced wood manufacturing industries in Laos and Australia
- Enhancing value added wood processing in Papua New Guinea
- Enhancing key elements of the value chains for plantation-grown wood in Lao PDR.
Building 4.0 CRC projects
Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA)
The National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI) projects
- Increasing the durability and other material characteristics of Tasmanian hardwoods
- Developing a new generation of Tasmanian appearance hardwood products for in-state design and manufacturing.
The ARC Centre for Advanced Manufacturing of Prefabricated Housing (ARC CAMPH)
Winner Photo taken by Brett Boardman Photography.
The team at the Sustainable and Renewable Forest Products Group has been creating sustainable forest practices for 15 years - we boast an impressive range of academics, graduate researchers and professional and honorary staff.
Academics
Dr Benoit Belleville (Senior Research Fellow) is a wood engineer whose research focuses on timber engineering, engineered wood products, wood adhesion, and mechanical properties of timber.
Barbara Ozarska (Professor) is a timber engineer whose research focuses on value-added utilization of plantation timber for high-value wood products based on solid wood, veneers and engineered wood.
Graduate researchers
Lilik Astari (PhD candidate) aims to propose an eco-friendly particleboard alternative using corn stalk and a renewable formaldehyde-free resign suitable for particleboard manufacturing.
Johannes Fehrmann (PhD candidate) is assessing the potential for Australian hemp hurd residue (Cannabis sativa L.) for the production of environmentally friendly light-weight biocomposites.
Esther Oluwatosin Falade (PhD candidate) will be developing options for wood processing methods and product development to offer guidance for plantation improvement strategies in Northern Australia.- Bernard Gibson (PhD candidate) is currently developing a system to attenuate low-frequency structure-borne sound in multi-storey timber buildings.
Peter Edwin (PhD candidate) is currently developing a multi-criterion optimisation framework for reducing the greenhouse (GHG) emissions associated with hardwood processing in Papua New Guinea.
Professional staff
- Kristopher Orlowski
Honorary staff
- Prof Voytek Gutowski
- Mr Martin Strandgard
Alumni
Vendy Eko Prasetyo conducted research to improve the production efficiency of medium-size Indonesian wood furniture companies.
Ngoc Bao Nguyen analysed the potential production of multilaminar (reconstructed) veneer from low-quality eucalyptus and acacia plantations grown in Vietnam.
Jamaludin Malik enhanced timber quality of jabon wood (Anthocepalus cadamba) for high-quality products by treatment through densification and impregnation with merbau extractives.- Phongxiong Wenneng investigated the impact of selected wood characteristics and properties on the market price of plantation-grown teak logs (Tectona grandis Linn.F) in Lao People Democratic Republic.
The wood technology laboratory at Burnley Campus is equipped with a wide range of dedicated equipment for researchers and postgraduate students to undertake studies on physical and mechanical properties of wood species, wood composites, and the performance and durability of wood products.
Instron Universal Testing Machine
Designed for testing mechanical properties of solid, composite, and engineered wood products and assessing bondline strength. The machine is equipped with a 50 kN load cell and most standard tools and fixtures (bending, tension, compression, compression-shearing, hardness).
Hot and cold laboratory press
Tonnage: 25 tons
Platens: 23 cm x 30 cm with a daylight of 13 cm
Temperature: ambient to 315°C
Semi-Industrial Press
Designed to apply a vertical or horizontal (or both) load to laminated workpieces (up to 3 m long, 1.5 m high, and 30 cm wide) and equipped with pressure load cells to monitor the pressing pressure.
Conveyor and Air Brush Spaying System
Designed to treat wood products with chemicals/coating systems in a controlled environment to ensure repeatability (e.g. water-soluble chemicals solutions, preservatives, fire-retardants).
QUV Accelerated Weathering Unit
Equipment allowing testing materials by exposing them to alternating cycles of UV light and moisture at controlled and elevated temperatures. In a few days or weeks, the QUV tester can reproduce the damage that occurs over months or years outdoors.
Autoclave
Operating range: Up to 135°C and 0.263 MPa
Effective volume: 36 litres
Vacuum-Pressure Vessel
Operating range: 0 to 30 in.Hg; 0 to 100 psi
Capacity: 11.4 litres
Conditioning and Termite Rooms
Two 10 m3 conditioning rooms and one temperature and humidity cabinet (150 litres) which allow precise control of temperature (10°C to 60°C) and relative humidity (20% to 95% RH). One accelerated field simulator (AFS) and/or termite conditioned room for termite and wood decay testing facilities.
Laboratory kilns (3) & Solar kiln
All equipped with data acquisition and programmable controller units to control the temperature and RH conditions. The lab kiln volumes are 0.39 m3.
Colorimeter
For testing changes of colour of veneer or coated wood samples after exposure to UV light.
High-Temperature Laboratory Furnace
Temperature: +300 to 1200°C
Capacity: 15 litres
Pull-Off Adhesion Tester
For the mechanical assessment of the performance of coatings and finishing systems on wood samples.