The Latest Market and Technology Trends in Solvent-free Lamination Adhesives
Enhanced polyurethane solvent-free laminating adhesive systems facilitate the replacement of solvent-based adhesives, while addressing critical challenges of increasing usability.
The flexible packaging material market is expected to continue to grow significantly, due to the increase of the global population, resolution of food issues through food-waste reduction, and the economic growth of emerging countries. At the same time, social and environmental issues such as plastic waste and global warming need to be addressed. It is becoming more important for the entire industry to work to build a sustainable society through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and other initiatives. To help curb global warming, the Japanese government announced its increased targets for realizing a sustainable society at the Climate Change Summit (COP26) in April 2021. Among the revised goals were reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Japan by 46% below the FY2013 level by FY2030 and the realization of a carbon neutral society in 2050. To realize these goals, it is necessary for industry, enterprise, and individuals to plan their actions using a backcasting approach and to implement these plans accordingly.
The Japanese lamination industry has been using solvent-based adhesives for years. Every year, the industry discharges hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases throughout the life cycles of its products, which include production, processing, and incineration. That said, Toyo-Morton estimates that CO2 emissions related to inks and laminating adhesives in packaging can be reduced up to 70% by substituting solvent-based products with solvent-free ones. As shown in Figure 1, the proliferation of water-based/solvent-free adhesives with low-associated CO2 emissions is more popular in countries such as the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia (especially in the Philippines). Japan lags behind the world in terms of environmental responsiveness and needs to change its ways if it is to achieve a carbon-neutral society.