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 sugar-based polymer produced by EcoSynthetix (i.e. EcoSphere) and industrially sourced lignins will be used to develop a bio-based adhesive. Through an initial Engage grant, we developed a process to oxidize EcoSphere to provide the formaldehyde component of phenolic resins. We also compared enzymatic and chemical methods to generate the phenolic fraction of resins from lignins isolated through different pretreatment processes and biomass sources. The aim of the current Engage Plus project will be to characterize the basic properties of resins produced using oxidized EcoSphere and lignin, including viscosity, gel time and water resistance. Opportunities to tailor resin properties using different EcoSphere preparations will also be evaluated.