Chapter 16: Soy Proteins as Wood Adhesives

Abstract

Protein adhesives allowed the development of bonded wood products such as plywood and glulam in the early 20th century. Petrochemical-based adhesives replaced proteins in most wood bonding applications because of lower cost, improved production efficiencies, and enhanced durability. However, several technological and environmental factors have led to a resurgence of proteins, especially soy flour, as an important adhesive for interior nonstructural wood products. This paper discusses important aspects of protein structure and recent successful advances in higher performance soy flour adhesives for wood bonding. Despite these advances, we believe there is even greater potential for protein adhesives if the reactive groups can be better utilized for bonding and more efficiently cross linked. Protein wood adhesives have recently displaced fossil fuel–based adhesives in some markets and have the potential to replace a significant percentage of fossil fuel–based wood adhesives worldwide.

Citation

Frihart, Charles R.; Hunt, Christopher G.; Birkeland, Michael J. 2014. Chapter 16: Soy Proteins as Wood Adhesives. In: Recent Advances in Adhesion Science and Technology, edited by Woiciech (Voytek) Gutowski, and Hanna Dodiuk. 2014; pp. 277-290.