Eco-efficiency analysis illustrates the benefits of ultraviolet-cured adhesives
The EEA performed considered the production and application of the three types of PSAs under review, which are all special types of adhesive designed to bond without the use of heat or moisture. They are used in a variety of consumer and commercial products, such as masking tapes, office tape, and labels, and continue to gain market share from mechanical fasteners. PSAs also have specialized industrial applications, such as clear protective films on appliances and automobile components, reflective material on signs, and bonding a variety of similar and dissimilar surfaces, either permanently or temporarily. The adhesives are formulated to meet a specific cost/performance balance through the choice of an elastomer or polymer and other materials, such as tackifying resins, additives, fillers, colorants, and oils. The general categories of elastomers and polymers used in PSAs include natural and synthetic rubbers, acrylics, and silicones. In some cases, more than one resin is used to provide additional properties not available to the single resin formulation (to simplify the EEA study that was conducted, only acrylic resins were considered). Carrier solvents and other additives such as rheology modifiers, defoamers, and stabilizers, are used to influence processing and coating behavior.