Development of Recycling Compatible Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives and Coatings PDF Download

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Book Description
The objective of this project was the design of new water-based pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) products and coatings engineered for enhanced removal during the processing of recycled fiber. Research included the formulation, characterization, and performance measurements of new screenable coatings, testing of modified paper and board substrates and the design of test methods to characterize the inhibition of adhesive and coating fragmentation and relative removal efficiencies of developed formulations. This project was operated under the requirements that included commercially viable approaches be the focus, that findings be published in the open literature and that new strategies could not require changes in the methods and equipment used to produce PSA and PS labels or in the recycling process. The industrial partners benefited through the building of expertise in their company that they would not, and likely could not, have pursued if it had not been for the partnership. Results of research on water-based PSAs clearly identifies which PSA and paper facestock properties govern the fragmentation of the adhesive and provide multiple strategies for making (pressure-sensitive) PS labels for which the PSA is removed at very high efficiencies from recycling operations. The application of these results has led to the identification of several commercial products in Franklin International's (industrial partner) product line that are recycling compatible. Several new formulations were also designed and are currently being scaled-up. Work on recycling compatible barrier coatings for corrugated containers examined the reinforcement of coatings using a small amount of exfoliated organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT). These OMMT/paraffin wax nanocomposites demonstrated significantly improved mechanical properties. Paraffin waxes containing clay were found to have significantly higher Young's moduli and yield stress relative to the wax matrix, but the most impressive finding was the impact of the clay on the elongation at break; a nearly 400% increase was observed for a clay concentration of 0.5 wt.%. These coatings also demonstrate a number of other property enhancements, which make them a good candidate for continued research. Another approach explored in this research was the use of structured and self-cleaning surfaces. If the amount of coating utilized can be significantly reduced, the environmental impact is diminished.