This feature offers a comprehensive listing of the top adhesive and sealant companies’ green products. Use this guide throughout the year to find sustainable, green materials from renewable ingredients. To send submissions for future installments of this feature, send e-mail to mcphersont@bnpmedia.com.

Adhesives and Sealants

Bostik
Evo-Stik is the first green range of adhesives and sealants in the UK that can be recycled with household waste after use. The products are designed to be strong on performance but gentler on the earth.

Among the products, greengrab is an instant-grab adhesive that creates powerful, long-lasting bonds. It will stick virtually anything to everything. greenseal shower and bathroom sealants are mold-resistant, 100% waterproof and offer a lifetime-guaranteed seal.

The cartridges are sourced from FSC-certified forests and the labels are made from 100%-recycled paper. The nozzle and plunger are made from biodegradable plastic. In addition, the adhesives and sealants contain minimal VOCs, thereby reducing pollution into the atmosphere.

Performance is not compromised by the products' green credentials - they are as good as other well-known adhesives and sealants on the market, the company says.

Web: www.bostik.co.uk/diy/brand/evo-stik.

Moldable Adhesive

FormFormForm
A new class of silicone materials, sugru^TM, has a range of properties that combine to deliver specific advantages over other adhesives, making it ideal for repairing and adapting existing products.

sugru is the result of an invention made five years ago by Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, then a post-graduate research student at London’s Royal College of Art. She wanted a moldable, self-adhesive and self-curing silicone that would allow for easy and affordable repair, improvement, or customization of existing items. She devised the concept and brought it into reality in partnership with entrepreneur Roger Ashby, with backing from the Royal College of Art and the technical expertise of former Dow Corning senior silicone materials scientists.

“We all throw away dozens of perfectly good products every year because they break, wear through or are uncomfortable to use,” Dhulchaointigh says. “sugru is unique because it not only enables people to repair things easily, but also gives them the satisfaction of taking a stand against our throwaway society by celebrating and enjoying repairs.”

sugru is the first product to enter the market using FormFormForm’s patented platform technology, Formerol^®. The material can easily be molded by hand or machine at ambient temperatures; its plasticity can be specified as required; it incorporates moisture-activated curing and it adheres to metal substrates, glass, ceramics, some woods, and some plastics; it is waterproof, highly durable, electrically and thermally insulating, and heat-resistant to 180°C; and it cures at room temperature, offering a smooth or textured non-slip surface.

Web: www.formerol.com
Web: www.formformform.com

Wood Adhesive

Franklin Adhesives & Polymers
Franklin Adhesives & Polymers^TM, a division of Franklin International, recently launched one of its greenest wood adhesives to date. Multibond 4000 FF is the company’s first completely formaldehyde-free, water-resistant, one-part x-PVAc adhesive for lamination.

The adhesive meets rigorous standards for water resistance, including ANSI HPVA EF 2002 Type II specification and Europe’s DIN EN 204 D3 standard. While other formulas can claim that level of water resistance, most contain some degree of trace formaldehyde.

In contrast to these water-resistant PVAc adhesives, advanced Multibond 4000 FF does not contain formaldehyde.  End products fabricated with MB4000 FF would pass stringent formaldehyde rules in California, Japanese Four Star, the European EO formaldehyde-emission standards and the LEED^® low-emitting materials requirement.

The division’s x-PVAc adhesives are all considered green; however, no detectable formaldehyde in Multibond 4000 brings green to a higher level.  This product was designed for those who demand the highest in both green performance and water resistance.

The adhesive is a safe yet versatile and highly effective, with multiple uses across both wood assembly plants and cabinet manufacturers.  It can be used in hot and cold presses, and is ideal for laminating engineered wood flooring, interior plywood, cabinet panels, and flush doors.

Phone: (800) 977-4583 ext. 1446
E-mail: Marketing@franklininternational.com
Web: www.franklinadhesivesandpolymers.com

Electronics Adhesives and Sealants

Henkel Corp.
Henkel Corp. has introduced a new line of Loctite^® adhesives and sealants that meet the requirements of IPC IEC #61249-2-21. Used primarily in hand-held electronics such as cell phones, PDAs, notebook/laptop computers and hard disk drives, these adhesives are formulated to contain less than 900 ppm bromine and chlorine and 1,500 ppm total halogens. Halogen levels in these products are often undetectable.

The line of Loctite halogen-free adhesives includes more than 30 products in a range of technologies, including cyanoacrylates, light-cure cyanoacrylates, epoxies, urethanes, UV acrylics, silicones, hot melts, two-part acrylics and anaerobics. The materials are used for bonding, sealing, gasketing and mounting a range of components, including connectors, keypads, cameras, microphones, speakers, trim, emblems, frames, screens, latches, magnets, hinges, cases, batteries, head gimbals, head stacks, sliders, and bearings.

Phone: (800) LOCTITE
Web: www.loctitehf.com

Contact Adhesives and Cements

Royal Adhesives and Sealants LLC
Royal Adhesives and Sealants LLC recently launched a new line of Silaprene^® brand low-VOC contact adhesives and cements for use in the transportation, assembly, foam and furniture, HVAC, recreational vehicle, and marine industries. These new contact adhesives and cements contain fewer than 250 g/L of VOCs, compared to over 600 grams per liter of VOCs in traditional solvent-based contact adhesives and cements.

“This new line of Silaprene brand LVOC adhesives and contact cements can be tailored to the application requirements of our customers without requiring large minimum orders, which allows us to work with customers on all sizes of potential applications,” says Royal CEO Ted Clark.

Royal’s experienced research and development department works closely with industrial customers to develop new products and modify existing products that will meet their needs for green strength, application times, and physical properties.

Web: www.royaladhesives.com

Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives

Toyo Ink Mfg. America
Toyo Ink Mfg. America, a member of the Toyo Ink Group, has launched a line of environmentally friendly pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA) under the Oribain brand. The acrylic PSA is designed to achieve maximum performance in peel, tack and shear strength with minimum environmental impact. The toluene-free adhesive does not release dioxins or endocrine disrupters into the atmosphere, contributing to safe and healthy work and living environments.

The PSA is currently used by Japanese automakers for applications ranging from nameplate mounting and electrical insulation of wiring to shock absorption and paint masking. Unlike aerosol spray adhesives used to bond fabrics such as leather to exposed plastic areas in automobile interiors, this PSA comes in the form of pressure-sensitive tack sheets that are applied as the bonding layer between the fabric and the car body. Relative to the spray coating method, Toyo’s PSAs are removable for self-sticking repositioning. They also generate less adhesive waste and emit minimal VOC gases, offering both cost and green advantages.

The eco-friendly Oribain PSA delivers high performance for low-surface-energy films, high yield ratio, good anchorage to many substrates including SUS and HDPE, and stable peel strength even after long aging periods.

Web: www.toyoink.com

For more about green products and green industry news, visit our Green Microsite at www.adhesivesmag.com/Articles/Green.