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From left to right: Ph.D. student Ms. Peeraya Settapong, Associate Professor Dr. Narumol Matan, Associate Professor Dr. Nirundorn Matan, and Professor Dr. Diego Elustondo

Walailak University, led by Associate Professor Dr. Nirundorn Matan from the Center of Excellence in Wood and Biomaterials and Associate Professor Dr. Narumol Matan from the Center of Excellence in Innovation of Essential Oil, along with Ph.D. student Ms. Peeraya Settapong, has been working with Professor Dr. Diego Elustondo and the team at Scion, a leading research institute in New Zealand, to extract sugar-rich water from palm wood, aiming to mitigate the environmental impact of palm oil production and advance sustainable practices on a global scale.

A breakthrough in the wood industry was first achieved when Walailak University successfully dried palm oil wood without causing collapse. The result was a lightweight and porous material with specific strength comparable to normal wood, making it suitable for use as the main component of engineered wood for furniture. The patented technique involves saturating the wood with water and then freezing it, thus averting cell collapse during drying.

The university is now taking a step further by working with Scion to extract sugar-rich water from oil palm wood instead of drying it. This technique, which requires a small amount of energy, has the potential to freeze the wood and extract the sap from it in a single chamber, thereby enhancing the sustainability of palm oil production.

This research is supported by the Thailand Science, Research and Innovation (TSRI), the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), and Timber Engineering of Krabi Co., Ltd, under Grant No. PHD62I0034 from the Research and Researchers for Industries.

As part of this effort, the delegation from Walailak University is visiting Scion this week to explore research capabilities and potential collaboration and, in October this year, Professor Dr. Diego Elustondo from Scion plans to visit Walailak University.