Adhesives & Sealants Industry Top Stories

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Automakers' search for lighter materials and more fuel-efficient vehicles is a well-covered topic. But there are more layers to the story than the headlines suggest.

The global adhesive films market was valued at $9.7 billion in 2013 and is expected to reach $14.45 billion by 2020, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% during the forecast period, according to Transparency Market Research's "Adhesive Films Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014-2020."

Polyolefin polymers have been an important part of daily life for variety of applications since the reported lab-scale process by Carothers in the 1930s1 and commercial process introduction by ICI in the 1940s.

Solvents have traditionally been derived from petroleum. These petroleum-based solvents are now being replaced by bio-based solvents, derived from renewable feedstocks such as corn, soybeans and orange peels.

Meter/mix systems vary immensely from application to application. Adhesive or sealant resin formulations can vary as well—by chemistry, viscosity, filler content, handling time, and moisture sensitivity, as well as other critical performance factors engineered by the material supplier.

This year, the Valspar Corp. celebrates 50 years of Fluropon® 70% PVDF resin-based coatings.

Bio-based succinic acid provides researchers and product developers a valuable and innovative sustainable platform chemical for differentiable, high-performance polyurethane (PU) materials.

This is a call for innovation and collaboration. The ascent - or, more appropriately - re-ascent of renewable chemistry provides great promise for the adhesives and sealants industry.

Ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) curing offers many benefits for bonding and coating applications in the touchscreen manufacturing segment. It provides a more consistent and reliable process without damaging or discoloring heat-sensitive components.