The Wood Technology Research Centre
About the Wood Technology Research Centre
The Wood Technology Research Centre at the University of Canterbury was fully established at the end of 1996 as a means of information exchange among staff engaged in wood-related research, to facilitate the shared use of research facilities, enhance research programmes and to promote technology transfer to end users. Staff participate in the Centre's activities are from the Departments of Chemical and Process Engineering, Forestry, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Biological Sciences.
The Centre organises workshops and seminars. It co-ordinates visits of wood scientists and technologists to the University. The Centre has links and collaborative projects with both international and national research institutes. The centre members undertake research projects funded by New Zealand Government and industries. The Centre welcomes further opportunities for joint work with interested parties.
| Topic | Contact | Department | Techniques and facilities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biomass gasification and co-gasification of biomass and coal for bioenergy and liquid fuels | S.Pang | Chemical and Process Engineering | 100 kW pilot scale dual fluidised bed gasifier, Lab scale gasifier, mathematical modelling |
| Biomass pyrolysis to densify biomass | S.Pang | Chemical and Process Engineering | Lab scale pyrolysis reactor, Simultaneous DSC-TGA |
| Carbon footprints of timber structures | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering | Life cycle assessment | |
| Conceptual design of timber structures | A.Buchanan | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering | Preliminary advice to architects and design engineers |
| Demonstration timber structures | A.Buchanan | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering | Structural testing facilities |
| Development of gas cleaning system for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) syngas | S.Pang W.Saw |
Chemical and Process Engineering | A lab scale gas cleaning system |
| Development of FT synthesis technology for transport fuels | C.Williamson | Chemical and Process Engineering | A Micro-channel FT reactor |
| Earthquake resistance of timber structures | S.Pampanin | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering | Earthquake shaking tools |
| Feasibility study of biomass to FT synthesis fuels | S.Pang J.Li |
Chemical and Process Engineering | Process design, equipment selection, exergy analysis, life cycle assessment, quantification of sustainability |
| Fire resistance of timber structures | A.Buchanan | Civil and Natural Resources Engineering | Fire modelling; structural analysis |
| Ionic liquid extraction of wood cellulose and natural composites | S.Pang M.Staiger |
Chemical and Process Engineering | Ionic liquids synthesis apparatus |
| Log quality and product performance | J.Walker | Forestry, Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering | Seedling selection; Acoustic technique and analysis; Nuclear magnetic resonance (IRL); X-ray diffraction |
| MDF processing | S.Pang P.Jordan |
Chemical and Process Engineering | Lab-scale press; CFD modelling; Computer modelling of fibre drying and blending; Small-scale press tests |
| Pyrolysis of recycled plastics for liquid fuels | S.Pang | Chemical and Process Engineering | Pilot scale of pyrolysis reactor |
| Wood-plastics composites | S.Pang M.Staiger |
Chemical and Process Engineering, Mechanical Engineering | Twin extruder; Hot platen press; Instrument for stability and durability measurements |
| Wood properties on molecular scale | C.Altaner | Forestry, Chemistry, Biological Sciences | Electron microscopy; Spectroscopy; Diffraction; Chromatography |
Wood technology combines staff thats are from the Departments of Chemical and Process Engineering, Forestry, Civil and Natural Resources Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, and Biological Sciences. The entire list of staff can be seen on the contact us page.
WTRC is a member of
- Bioenergy Association of New Zealand (BANZ)
- Forestry Industry Engineering Association (FIEA)
- IEA Bioenergy Thermal Gasification of Biomass (Task 33)
WTRC collaborates with the following organisations
- CRL Energy Ltd.
- Building Research Association of NZ (BRANZ)
- Pine Manufacturing Association of NZ
- Plant and Food Research Ltd.
- Scion Research
- Structural Timber Innovation Company
- Wood Processing Association of NZ
Proceedings of workshops
Proceedings or presentations of previous workshops can be obtained by contacting Mrs Jingge Li using jingge. li@canterbury.ac.nz, or downloaded in free.
Workshop of IEA Bioenergy Task 33: Gasification and Alternative Fuels Development, Thursday, 14th April 2011, Copthorne Hotel Commodore, Christchurch
- Biomass Gasification R&D Activities in North America (PDF, 3MB) by Dr. Richard Bain, Principal Engineer, National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA
- Biomass Gasification in Australia (PDF, 1MB) by Dr. John Sanderson, Principal Environmental Engineer, Earth Systems, Australia.
- Conversion of Biomass Over Steam Gasification to Biofuels and Chemicals (PDF, 801KB) by Dr. Reinhard Rauch, Head of Project Group, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology, Austria.
- The Enigma of Gasification (Cinderella or Princess) (PDF, 1MB) by Mr. Doug Williams, Managing Director, Fluidyne Co., New Zealand.
- R&D Activities on Biomass Gasification for Syngas and Liquid Fuels at UC (PDF, 4MB) by Professor Shusheng Pang, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury.
- Thermo-chemical Conversion R&D Activities at CRL Energy (PDF, 2MB), by Dr. Tana Levi, Technology Operations Manager, CRL Energy Ltd., New Zealand.
- Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) - A Transformational Technology (PDF, 832KB) by Dr. Steven Pearce, General Manager –Gas Development, Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd.
- Production of Hydrogen-Rich Syngas from Steam Gasification of Biosolids and Wood (PDF, 588KB) by Dr. Woei-Lean Saw, Research Fellow, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury.
- Reactor and Catalyst Development for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (PDF, 1.50MB) by Chris Penniall, PhD student, Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Canterbury.
Workshop of Thermo-chemical Conversion of Biomass to Energy and liquid Fuel, Friday, 5th February 2010, Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch
Workshop of Maximising Benefits of Forestry and Wood Thursday, 4th February 2010, Forestry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch
For advice on Wood Technology
Find research groups
Search our Research database
