The purpose of this study is to valorize biomass waste
into products
with added value for indoor applications. Thus, broadleaf sawdust
was chemically processed by the solvolysis reaction in acid catalysis
in the presence of diethylene glycol at 160 °C for 4 h. After
filtration and removal of the unreacted biomass, the glycolysis product
was used in 6 different polyurethane adhesive formulations for wood
bonding. The adhesive films were characterized by FT-IR, TGA, and
DMA, while the mechanical performances were investigated by tensile
and three-point bending tests. An innovative method for the determination
of the working time was proposed. After the displacement of the wood
substrates by the tensile test, the bonded area was investigated by
SEM analysis. To confirm a correlation between the mechanical performances
of the adhesives and their structure/formulation, two-dimensional
(2D) simulations were performed based on the tensile tests.