PVA and EVA predominate, but acrylics are steadily expanding their market share. General-purpose adhesives may be based on any one of a range of emulsions, including vinyl acetate polymers (encompassing polyvinyl acetate [PVA] and ethylene vinyl acetate [EVA]), acrylics and styrene-butadiene (SB) latex. Smaller volume types include emulsions based on polyvinyl chloride, latex nitrile and acrylonitrile copolymers. PVAs are among the least expensive materials available, while acrylics generally are the most costly, with SB latex typically falling in between.
Vinyl acetate polymers will remain the largest segment of the market, where polyvinyl acetate, ethylene vinyl acetate and other polymers serve as moderately priced, nontoxic glues. Most prominently, PVA is used as the base for both white glue and carpenter's wood glue, two versatile, general-purpose products with broad use in the consumer segment. Vinyl acetate polymer adhesives are amenable to high-speed production processes and function best in the bonding of paper and wood. In particular, PVA and EVA adhesives are widely used in paperboard packaging, particularly the side seaming of lightweight board used for small cartons or boxes. These adhesives also find use in bookbinding, on-site construction, textiles, envelopes, bags and sacks, and labels. Furniture uses include wood veneer, edge gluing and general assembly. Global demand for vinyl acetate polymer emulsions in adhesives is forecast to approach one million metric tons by 2005.