Renewable (waste) material based polyesters as plasticizers for adhesives

Abstract The aim of the presented work was to replace phthalate based plasticizers with environmentally friendly materials to provide similar properties for poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) adhesives. Polyesters synthesized from the liquefied wood (PE-LW) and depolymerized polyethylene terephthalate (PE-PET) were used as renewable raw materials and evaluated as plasticizers used in PVAc dispersion adhesives for flooring applications. As a reference plasticizer, 1,2,3-triacetoxypropane was used. PVAc adhesives were evaluated with respect to solids content, viscosity, glass transition temperature ( T g ), tensile shear strength and binding strength. TGA analysis showed significant differences between the thermal stability of added polyesters and the commercial plasticizer. Samples prepared with PE-PET exhibit the best thermal stability even with an increase of 25% PE-PET. The addition of coalescing agents or plasticizers leads to a temporary softening of the PVAc polymer and a decrease in the glass transition temperature. The type and content of plasticizer have great influence on wood–wood binding strength, tensile strength and elongation. The requirements for the mechanical properties of adhesives were fulfilled by the compositions containing 8.8% (w/w) of PE-PET and 20% (w/w) of PE-LW.