Investigating the development of 100% biobased adhesive for applications in engineered wood products

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Wood composite industries mainly use phenolic-based adhesives in the production of exterior grade plywood, oriented strand boards and particle boards. Phenolic adhesives are made from two main components: phenol and formaldehyde, which are both produced from petroleum resources. Cost-effective substitution of these raw materials with environmentally safe and sustainable biomaterials would benefit manufacturers of wood composites and resins, as well as consumers. The goal of the proposed project is to modify two natural biopolymers to formulate an adhesive that is entirely made of sustainable raw materials. In particular, an engineered starch-based polymer and lignin will be used to develop a bio-based adhesive. The starch-biopolymer will be modified to become a suitable alternative to the formaldehyde component of phenolic resin, whereas lignin (an abundant and underutilized side stream of forest and bioenergy sectors) will be investigated as a substitute for phenol. This short-term project will focus on investigating modification routes that improve the reaction of these two natural biopolymers in the production of environmentally sustainable phenolic resin. Subsequent projects will optimize the modification processes and formulate a phenolic adhesive using the 100% bio-based resin developed herein.