Power Adhesives claims to have developed the ‘world’s first’ fully-certified biodegradable, shaped hot melt adhesive with the aim of boosting the environmental credentials of its product portfolio. The certified tecbond 214B adhesive claims to break down in prolonged exposure to oxygen, ultraviolet light, and heat. The long-chain polymers in the polymers are broken down to be consumed by microorganisms in a natural decomposition process. As the adhesive is made with 44% biobased materials, it is said to leave no microplastics or harmful products behind when it decomposes. Due to the absence of organic solvents and harmful chemicals, tecbond 214B can be applied without the use of respiratory PPE.
tecbond 214B is said to match the performance and characteristics of standard adhesives. Once applied and compressed, it apparently forms an instance bond with a high level of tack and fast setting speeds; this is expected to fast-track companies’ packaging procedures and improve workflow and output.
The adhesive is also approved for indirect food contact. It is therefore suitable for use in wrap-around cartons, boxes, shipping packages, and other food packaging applications. “The work has included detailed formulation, evaluation, and long-term testing in the laboratory and field,” explains Keith Hampson, operations director at Power Adhesives. He adds that “two production lines have been modified to produce the new biodegradable adhesive in 12, 15, and 43 mm sizes.”
Earlier this year, Flow Materials released its own range of solvent-free, water-based adhesive solutions for flexible packaging, setting its sights on more sustainable sealing for packaging designs. Since then, Dow, Henkel Adhesive Technologies, and Kraton Corporation have joined forces to reduce the carbon footprint of Henkel’s TECHNOMELT SUPRA 100 LE and TECHNOMELT SUPRA 106M LE formulas hot melt adhesive formulas for end-of-line packaging. Each comes with a biobased alternative and are said to reduce adhesives’ cradle-to-gate carbon footprint by 25%.
The Technomelt Supra 079 Eco Cool hot melt adhesive claims to bond packaging at a processing temperature up to 40°C lower than other solutions. Henkel anticipates that this will consume less energy, as well as also benefit operating personnel by decreasing the risk of burns and reducing exposure to vapours and volatile substances.
Furthermore, it is thought to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 32% compared to a premium polyolefin-based hot melt – which, assuming an adhesive consumption of 7 tons per year, is calculated to save around 7,500kg of CO2 every year. This calculation is based on a cradle-to-gate analysis of the product’s carbon footprint, excluding the use phase and end-of-life emissions.
The adhesive is also certified by cyclos-HTP as compatible with the paper recycling process, while its ISCC certification is set to achieve the correct volume of certified and non-certified material within the product – 30% certified mass balanced material and at least 49% direct biobased content. All together, these features are hoped to help companies optimise the sustainability of their packaging in the raw materials and processing stages of the value chain.
Henkel recently worked with Dow and Kraton Corporation to lower the carbon footprint of its Technomelt Supra 100 LE and Technomelt Supra 106M LE – both available with biobased alternatives and designed for end-of-line packaging. The lower-emission formulations are still believed to provide the same performance and food-safe properties as the legacy designs.
