Adhesives play a critical role in many industrial applications, especially the packaging industry. An adhesive failure can have catastrophic consequences to the entire production process. Most times, synthetic products are not the most reliable and cost-effective adhesive solutions. It is for this reason that eco-friendly adhesives were developed to provide maximum adhesive performance for various applications. The most common of these is starch adhesive, whose primary raw material is starch.
Composition of starch-based adhesives
Renewable corn and wheat are the common sources used in making starch adhesive. They may contain other raw materials such as caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, borax and calcium chloride in small amounts. Starch adhesives are versatile in performance. There are different blends which usually range from high performance for complicated applications that require superior strength to cost-effective ones that are suitable for easier applications. They are recycled efficiently, leaving little or no residues as compared to synthetic adhesives.
Advantages over synthetic adhesives
Over the years, starch-based adhesives have been widely used due to several important reasons that make it preferred. They are low-cost, readily available, long-lasting, and have a higher binding strength compared to the synthetic adhesives. They are mostly available in powder form allowing easy shipping, handling, and handling. Finally, due to its eco-friendliness, the starch adhesive is suitable for a broad range of applications with little negative impact to the environment.
Applications of starch-based adhesives
There are a variety of uses for starch-based adhesives in industries. They are excellent for corrugating and solid-fiber applications, board laminating, seam-pasting, carton sealing, tube winding and warp sizing among other papermaking applications. They are also widely used in the textile industry for bag manufacturing. Acid-modified starches are used in the construction industry to enhance the strength of gypsum wallboard edges.