World Industrial Reporter

Innovation Delivered Daily

  • Innovation
    • Innovation Article Archive
    • Innovative Companies
    • Innovation Strategies
    • New Equipment Innovations
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Markets
    • Market Trends
    • Tradeshow Reports
    • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
World Industrial Reporter » Innovation » A Plywood Glue Made of Glucose and Citric Acid

A Plywood Glue Made of Glucose and Citric Acid

May 11, 2022

a nontoxic glue for pl

A global team of scientists has developed a new type of nontoxic, water-resistant adhesive for plywood by combining glucose with citric acid.

According to the team from China’s Southwest Forestry University and Guizhou University, and France’s University of Lorraine, previous studies have shown that solutions of sucrose–a two-unit sugar made of glucose and fructose–and citric acid form a natural and water-resistant wood glue.

However, a zinc chloride catalyst is a must if you want to decrease the energy consumption for the plywood curing. Unfortunately, this also reduces the adhesive’s strength.

This led Southwest Forestry’s Hong Lei and colleagues to discover if pure glucose and citric acid could produce a strong adhesive with a less energy-intensive curing process.

As part of their research, the scientists heated solutions of glucose and varying amounts of citric acid into a sticky liquid that they applied onto poplar veneers. They then stacked three veneers and pressed them into a single sheet at 392°F for six minutes.

This done, the scientists cut the sheets into smaller pieces for strength tests and found that under pressures greater than 101 psi, the plywood samples all broke along the wood fibers and not at the glued seams.

According to Lei, these results satisfy the standard requirement for plywood in China.

When the plywood samples were soaked in hot or boiling water, only the ones made with citric acid to glucose ratios above 0.6 had adhesive strengths that satisfied the standard requirement.

Lei and his colleagues attribute this to the increase in ester links between citric acid and wood, which increased the wood-binding strength and water-resistance–something the wood products industry would surely be interested in.

In order to make plywood, wood manufacturers currently glue together thin layers of wood and then cure the material under pressure and heat, creating large, flexible panels.

One of the most common adhesives is a urea-formaldehyde resin because it’s inexpensive and bonds strongly to wood.

However, formaldehyde emissions from plywood with this type of resin have raised health and environmental concerns.

Image and content: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 

Share on

Filed Under: Innovation

Fingerprinted Ivory Keeps Poachers at Bay
Polymeric Gels Prevent Liquid Fuels from Exploding
Avatar

About Aruna Urs

Aruna is an industrial journalist. He writes on innovations that emanate at the intersection of science and engineering having a profound impact on the manufacturing sector.

Follow me
Suppliers

ATRO: Automation Technology for Robotics – the Modular Industrial Robot System

The new ATRO system from Beckhoff is a modular industrial robot system that can be used to assemble the optimal robot structures for different applications on an individual and flexible basis. Standardized motor modules with integrated drive functionality, together with link modules in various designs and lengths, enable almost limitless combinations of mechanics.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

3D Laser Scanners for Inline Quality Inspection

The scanCONTROL 3D laser scanners are characterized by high dynamics, absolute precision and compatibility with all materials. Integrated powerful processors, highly sensitive optical components and the low weight make integration into robotic applications and inline production monitoring simple.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Super High Response Speed Servo Valve

With “Dual Halbach Magnet Array” configuration, which makes the strongest magnetic field more than twice as much as the conventional model. Santest Direct Acting Servo Valve has achieved world-class highest frequency response speed of 800Hz. DA Series also has excellent contamination resistance. Find out more about how this patented servo valve works.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Affordable and Fixed Installed IR Cameras

Our thermal imaging cameras with multiple wavelength options, automatic spot finder function and autonomous operation are ideal for condition monitoring of machines and plants up to 5432 °F.
View Supplier Email this Supplier

Subscribe

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

Free Newsletter Subscription

Find us on the social web.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
FREE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

Get the latest WIR reports straight to your inbox.

  • Innovation Article Archive
  • Innovation Strategies
  • Innovative Companies
  • New Products
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Market Trends
  • Tradeshow Reports
  • White Papers
  • Logistics
  • Newsletters
  • Fun Stuff
  • Industry Links
Follow us

© 2022 Thomas Publishing Company. All rights reserved.