New Sealants/Adhesives from Bio-Based Building Blocks

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ADFAST Corp. (St-Laurent, QC) is one of the leading supplier of adhesives, caulking, fasteners and sealants in Canada - indeed about 70% of all sealants in building windows in Canada are derived from ADFAST's products. These materials find application in construction, packaging, transportation, marine sealants, to name but a few; indeed, in any industry requiring sealing, fastening and adhesion. Consequently, the market is highly competitive and innovative products constantly need to be developed to match the ever-increasing, sophisticated needs of consumers. ADFAST has been developing their own products to increase their competitive advantage and desire to be more responsive to their customer's needs by being able to precisely tailor their formulations. The proposed collaboration will build on the NSERC Engage grant and will entail development of polyurethane hybrid sealants focused on the following three major themes. Bio-based building blocks for polyols and diisocanates will be used to make new polyurethane hybrids. Further, this proposal will synthesize bio-based polyurethanes but using the non-isocyanate route; thereby eliminating the dangerous process to synthesize these compounds and eliminate the exposure of workers to isocyanates, which have been found to be health hazard. Finally, polyurethane aqueous dispersions (PUDs), widely used in coatings and floor coverings, will be developed without the use of organic solvents, reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) exposure to workers. All of these aspects aim to produce greener, safer alternative products without sacrificing performance.