From Molecules to Materials - Biobased Adhesives

Lead Institute HF Institute of Wood Research

Cyclic carbonates as crosslinker for biobased and formaldehyde-free adhesives.

Adhesives are essential to industrial production as a whole and are widely used in modern manufacturing applications. Usually adhesives are produced by fossil-based feedstocks. At the Thünen-Institute of Wood research we try to replace conventional products with bio-based resources.

Background and Objective

The objective of the research project is to make renewable resources viable for the adhesive production. Biopolymers from renewable resources like wood are crosslinked with cyclic carbonates to obtain thermosets. Depending on the degree of cross-linking and the tensile shear strength, the obtained materials are suitable for adhesive applications such as wood-based panels, packaging and insulation materials.

Approach

At first, various cyclic carbonates are synthesized. In a further step, biopolymers like lignin or carbohydrates are crosslinked with the obtained carbonates to receive thermosets. Finally, the samples are tested for tensile strength, shear strength and water stability and are compared to conventional adhesive systems.

Our Research Questions

Our project is focused on the use of renewable resources (lignin, tannin, carbohydrates) as prepolymers for the production of adhesives with new and harmless crosslinker.