The downstream market has long hoped that the industry can use water-based systems instead of solvent-based adhesives, and the EU regulations on restrictions on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will also be enforced in October 2007. Bayer MaterialScience's Dispercoll water-based adhesives meet the requirements of consumers and legislators.
Dispercoll water-based adhesives can match the adhesive strength of high-end solvent-based systems, but in industrial applications, changing to an aqueous system does not necessarily mean a more economical process. “The one-component water-based chlorinated olefin adhesives in the Dispercoll series have been proven in foam bonding and continue to be successful in the furniture and mattress industry,†said Dr. Mathias Matner, an adhesives specialist at Bayer MaterialScience.
Waterborne adhesives formulated with Dispercoll have a high GREEN strength and achieve better performance when used with Dispercoll S products. Significantly improved thermal stability can also be achieved using Dispercoll S, especially in the case of products with high hydroxyl values ​​such as Dispercoll XP 2325. When formulated, Dispercoll S with 10-55 nm can effectively adjust the fluidity over a wide range.
Bayer MaterialScience has also developed environmentally friendly heat-activated adhesives. “The water-based polyurethane dispersion adhesive in the Dispercoll series can be used to configure adhesives for shoe materials to meet future requirements for VOCs,†said Wolfgang Arndt, expert in Bayer material science. In the footwear industry, the original solvent-based neoprene adhesive solvent-based polyurethane adhesives are still used worldwide. Therefore, the transition to waterborne products is of special significance in environmental protection because solvent recovery is often impossible, and organic poisoning is also common. It's hard to avoid.
A detailed comparison of aqueous and solvent-based polyurethane adhesives allows Dispercoll products to meet or exceed current shoemaking requirements. In the standard tests, soles made of PVC, rubber, EVA, etc. did not show significant differences in the adhesive properties, and no material damage or peeling occurred in the respective tests. The analytical results show that the cost of aqueous systems is very different from that of solvent-based systems.
