Making bio-plastics from wood
NEW ZEALAND IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO ESTABLISHING its first commercial bio-plastics facility that will use forest waste as a feedstock.
The government’s Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) announced that NZ Bio-Forestry Limited will receive a $380,000 boost for gamechanging research that could unlock significant growth in the wood processing sector.
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says: “Research led by NZ BioForestry Limited could lead to New Zealand’s first bio-plastics facility in Manawatū-Whanganui and put NZ Radiata Pine at the centre of solving recycling challenges.
“The research will also consider whether NZ Radiata Pine is a viable alternative to carbon-based plastics like food packaging and single-use cups and can be used for high-value plywood. This could lead to a processing facility being built to manufacture these products and enable more efficient processing by making use of the entire log, thereby reducing waste.
“Nationally, this research is a key step in developing technology which could help New Zealand meet climate change targets and transition to a low emission economy. For the wood processing industry, this would lead to increased productivity, new jobs, and growth across many regions which could also use the technology.”
NZ Bio-Forestry is based in the central North Island and connects to a network of businesses and groups in Singapore and Taiwan.
The network started in early 2018 to spearhead the development of the project, which will use world-leading technology to create biodegradable, compostable and renewable alternatives to petroleum-based plastic products from under-utilised forestry resources.
NZ Bio-Forestry CEO Wayne Mulligan says New Zealand is well-placed to respond to growing global consumer demand for alternatives to petroleum-based plastics through the development of bio plastics, given the availability of natural resources.
He says: “It’s estimated that there are millions of tonnes of forest residue in New Zealand that are currently under-utilised.
“By piloting commercial production of bio plastics using those under-utilised resources, we are taking a major step forward in realising our aspirations for the forestry sector and the country to play a leadership role globally in the development of a renewable circular bio-economy.”
In the first stage of the project, NZ Bio Forestry and its Taiwanbased research and technology partners are planning to build a high-tech commercial pilot plant alongside new timber processing facilities at Marton. This will produce polymers from residual forestry bio-mass (such as waste material from timber processing), which can be used to make a range of bio-plastic products, such as containers, packaging and food service items. The pilot plant is expected to be fully operational by early 2022.
To make this happen, NZ Bio-Forestry has worked with a regional alliance comprising iwi, local and central government, technology development partners and commercial investors.
Under Memoranda of Understanding, NZ Bio-Forestry has exclusive New Zealand and Australian rights to use technology developed in Taiwan, which is already in use there to produce bio-fuels and bio-plastics for commercial use. The intention is to test the technology in Marton before expanding to other key sites elsewhere across regional New Zealand.
The initial stage of the project is expected to create up to 200 jobs at the pilot facility and hundreds more as expansion occurs across the wider central North Island, including many high-tech roles.
Mr Mulligan says the production of bio-plastics on a commercial scale is also a strong incentive for manufacturers of end-products that utilise bio-plastics to establish operations, which would create hundreds more jobs and further drive the regional economic growth potential of this industry.
Critical to the success of this initiative will be the continual flow of logs for timber processing and the use of residual waste for producing bio-plastics. NZ Bio-Forestry says it is now actively engaging with potential partners across the forestry sector to build the supply pipeline.
NZ Bio-Forestry is also talking to potential investors in wider manufacturing opportunities that fit with the focus on building a renewable bio-economy, such as bio-packaging and a wood-based energy product that is a replacement for coal, which would create even more new jobs.
In addition, NZ Bio-Forestry, Massey University and the regional alliance are engaging with local and international research institutions and universities to develop a renewable bio-economy network.
NZL