A new soy-flour adhesive, developed with support from the
soybean checkoff, may help reduce the emissions of a known carcinogen. SOYAD
from H2H Innovations replaces urea formaldehyde in wood adhesives, making the
product greener and healthier. In 2004, the International Agency for Cancer
Research reclassified formaldehyde from a suspect carcinogen to a known
carcinogen.
The adhesive was developed by leveraging soy-based adhesive technologies from
Hercules Inc. and Heartland Resource Technologies, which formed H2H
Innovations. The new company develops cost-competitive, formaldehyde-free
resins for decorative plywood, wood flooring, particleboard and medium-density
fiberboard markets. The joint venture will also offer technologies for oriented
strand board manufacturers that allow traditional phenolic resins to be
extended, resulting in lower-cost adhesives with reduced formaldehyde content.
“Reducing formaldehyde emissions is one of the major benefits of developing
soy-based adhesives,” says Karen Fear, United Soybean Board New Uses vice chair
and a soybean farmer from Montpelier, IN. “Soy adhesives don’t have an odor and
are environmentally friendly.”
Soy meal and soy flour are just starting to penetrate the wood-composite glue
market. For the particleboard and medium-density fiberboard markets, the
greatest interest is having a formaldehyde-free resin to resolve the issue of
formaldehyde emissions. This is needed to meet current and anticipated
regulatory demands and green initiatives, such as the Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Designs (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
SOYAD is a soy/phenolic co-resin used in exterior wood panel application, such
as oriented strand board and softwood plywood.
Reprinted with permission from the United Soybean Board, www.soynewuses.org.
 |
| Soy meal and soy flour are only beginning to penetrate the wood-composite-glue market. |
|
|
