The ARC Research Hub for Processing Lignocellulosics into High Value Products (PALS) receives $6.8 million investment over 5 years from the ARC funding, industry partners and Monash University contributions. The Hub aims to convert renewable and readily-available biomass material and waste streams from the Australian pulp, paper and forest industry into new, high-value products that are in high demand in existing and developing markets.

PALS will leverage world-leading Australian and international research capabilities in chemistry, materials science, and engineering to create new materials, chemicals, companies and jobs in an emerging and newly diversified Australian bio-economy. Research will identify new applications and products derived from lignocellulose and will feed the pharmaceutical, chemicals, plastics and food packaging industries.

Our Vision:

To create sustainable jobs in Australia and provide economic prosperity from bioresource manufacturing. This will be accomplished by fully converting plantation grown Australian biomass, forest and recycled residues into a complementary series of materials and chemicals.  Using the principles of green chemistry and sustainable processes each Kg of wood will be completely transformed into products, using as little energy and water as possible, while avoiding or restricting waste production. We will implement novel concepts of (bio)catalytic reaction engineering, material engineering and industrial biotechnology to reach our objectives. Our multidisciplinary Academic-Industry Team can resolve these transdisciplinary problems into opportunities.

Our Mission:

PALS aims at developing and sustaining the technical innovation required to transform the current Australian Pulp and Paper Industry into Biorefineries. The strategic science and engineering required to develop value chemicals and materials from Australian Biomass will be developed.