Canola Protein Wood Adhesive with Improved Bonding properties

Abstract

The importance of creating eco-friendly and health-conscious materials has become paramount in striving to attain long term development gaols. For the past decades, constant efforts have been made to tackle the issue of formaldehyde release from wood-based panels which, to date, are still mainly produced using unsustainable synthetic adhesives. In the pursuit of sustainable and environmentally responsible adhesive solutions for the wood industry, sodium bisulfate, sodium bisulfite, and sodium nitrite were used as crosslinkers for canola protein-based bio-adhesive formulations with superior binding properties for the production of particleboards. The developed adhesive formulations showed outstanding mechanical properties, with a viscosity below 4000 mPa/s despite the relatively high solid content, as well as excellent bonding performances. The one-layer particleboards bonded with the canola-based adhesive exhibited excellent mechanical properties, with values of the internal bonding and the bending strength above 0.60 N/mm2 and 10 N/mm2 respectively of the sodium nitrite-treated variants being significantly greater than that of the UF-bonded control boards. the SEM analysis revealed a good crystallisation of the adhesive in the wood-binder matrix. The results of this research showcase not only the possibility of developing a plant protein-based wood adhesive with high solid content, but also the potential superiority of canola protein-based wood adhesives when compared to conventional, synthetic counterparts. This study is a milestone in the field of eco-friendly adhesive technologies, opening new horizons for sustainable wood-based materials.