A new bio-based wood adhesive

One of the obstacles to easy recycling of wood composites is the thermosetting adhesives used in their production. Increasing the recyclability of composites could be achieved by developing bio-based bonding materials that will decompose under specific conditions. Bio-based adhesives such as those based on starch and microfibrillated cellulose have been demonstrated to form strong bonds with wood and wood composites. However, they require significant amounts of, usually synthetic, cross-linking agents to improve their moisture resistance, and unfortunately, these agents significantly reduce the recyclability of such adhesives.

This project aim to produce a new kind of adhesive that will enable to increase recyclability of composites.