ADHESIVE COMPOSITION BASED ON NOVOLAC

Abstract: An adhesive composition based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-phenolic novolac contains 35-75 % by weight of novolac, less than 25 % by weight of water, and 10-40 % by weight of an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol. The adhesive composition may also contain up to 20 % by weight of filler, based on the amount of novolac, water and alcohol. In a method for preparing the adhesive composition based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-phenolic novolac, the novolac is produced by conventional condensation, whereupon an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol is added and water in the novolac is distilled off, resulting in an adhesive composition as defined above. Alternatively, the amount of water can be reduced in the condensation of the novolac to be replaced with an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol.

Description: ADHESIVE COMPOSITION BASED ON NOVOLAC The present invention relates to a new adhesive com¬ position based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-pheno¬ lic novolac. More specifically, the invention concerns a novolac-based adhesive composition containing an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol. The adhesive composition mixed with a hardener has low emission of formaldehyde. Resorcinol resin and resorcinol-phenolic resin adhe- sives are commonly used in the wood industry, inter alia because of their satisfactory ageing stability, as well as good water and weather resistance of the glue line. Also, they may readily be cured at room temperature. Generally, resorcinol resins and resorcinol-phenolic resins are used in the form of novolacs, i.e. preconden- sates of resorcinol/phenol with formaldehyde, in which the ratio of formaldehyde to resorcinol/phenol is less than 1. The precondensates are cured by further addition of form¬ aldehyde. Since resorcinol is very reactive, a consider- able amount of the formaldehyde is added to the resin as curing agent. As a rule, this is done by the user when about to use the resin. It is common that the novolacs are cured with pulverulent curing agents based on paraform- aldehyde. It is well-known that the use of formaldehyde-based adhesives involves the problem of odorous formaldehyde emissions. When the pulverulent paraformaldehyde is dis¬ solved in the precondensate, formaldehyde is released and the adhesive smells. SE 408,063 discloses an attempt to solve this problem by having a curing agent in the form of a suspension of paraformaldehyde in a non-volatile sus¬ pending agent. This curing agent does not cause any smell problems when fresh, but when added to the adhesive, the paraformaldehyde reacts with the water in the adhesive mixture, and formaldehyde is released, making the adhesive smell. In attempts to reduce the amount of water in the novolac, viscosity has increased to an unacceptable level, making it impossible to spread the adhesive. An object of the present invention therefore is to produce an adhesive based on resorcinol novolac or resor¬ cinol-phenolic novolac and having a low emission of form¬ aldehyde after the addition of the formaldehyde based hardener. Another object of the invention is to produce such an adhesive having satisfactory application and gluing properties. These objects are achieved by an adhesive composi¬ tion, as defined in the appended claims, which is based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-phenolic novolac and is characterized in that it contains 35-75% by weight of novolac, less than 25% by weight of water, and 10-40% by weight of an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol. It was surprisingly found that by reducing the water content in the novolac and replacing it with a diva¬ lent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol, one obtained an adhesive composition which, upon the addition of pulveru¬ lent paraformaldehyde, gave off much less formaldehyde smell. The alcohols instead bind the formaldehyde in a larger molecule which does not evaporate and thus does not give off any smell. This molecule is decomposed only at the rate of reaction of the formaldehyde with the resin. Since a divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol is added instead of water, the resulting adhesive will have a viscosity which makes it suitable for spreading. Despite the fact that so much of the water was replaced with the hydroxy compound, the gluing properties of the resin were not impaired, which is highly surprising. Suitable aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohols include compounds of the type H0-R1-0H or HO-Rl-O- R2-OH, where Rl, R2 are (CH2)n, n being <_ 5, such as , ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,3- butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, and various kinds of trivalent and tetravalent alcohols, for instance glycerol and pen- taerythritol. The aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetrava¬ lent alcohol should be added in such an amount that the resulting adhesive composition contains 10-40% by weight thereof, preferably 15-30% by weight. Further, the adhesive composition should contain less than 25% by weight of water, preferably less than 20% by weight. Most preferred, the amount of water lies in the range of 5-15% by weight. The amount of novolac in the adhesive composition should be 35-75% by weight, preferably 45-60% by weight. Together, the novolac, the divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol and the water make up 100% by weight of the adhesive composition. The novolac used in the adhesive composition accord- ing to the invention can be produced in conventional man¬ ner. The molar ratio of formaldehyde to resorcinol, or of formaldehyde to resorcinol phenol, should be less than 0.9:1. When a mixture of resorcinol phenol is used, the amount of phenol may be up to 80 mole %, preferably 40-60 mole %, based on the total amount of resorcinol and phenol. Conveniently, the pH of the novolac is adjusted to a value in the range of 6.8-8.7. This results in a good balance between formaldehyde emission and curing speed. The adhesive composition according to the invention may also contain such conventional fillers as olive-stone meal and almond-shell meal or the like in contents of up to _< 20% by weight, based on the amount of novolac, alcohol and water. The adhesive composition can be produced by preparing a novolac by conventional condensation. Then, the desired amount of divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol is added, and water in the novolac is distilled off. Alterna¬ tively, the binder can be prepared by reducing the amount of water as early as in the novolac condensation, e.g. by using raw materials of such a low water content that there is no need of any distillation. If so, the alcohol is suitably added at an early stage of the condensation. The viscosity of the resulting binder lies in the range of 300-10,000 mPas, based on a pure resin solution. The adhesive composition is then cured in known manner by adding formaldehyde in an amount giving the binder the desired final molar ratio. Suitably, the final molar ratio in resorcinol/resorcinol-phenolic resins of formaldehyde to resorcinol/resorcinol phenol lies in the range of 0..75-1.7, preferably 0.9-1.2. The formaldehyde is preferably added in the form of a pulverulent curing agent based on paraformal¬ dehyde. The invention will now be described in more detail below with the aid of the following Examples, in which the figures are in per cent by weight and parts by weight, unless otherwise stated. Example 1 Here, 677 g of phenol, 540 g of formaldehyde (40%), 216 g of water and 21.6 g of NaOH (45%) were added. pH was adjusted to 7.50-8.0. The mixture was heated to 65°C and maintained at this tem¬ perature for 1 h. Then, the mixture was heated to boiling and allowed to boil for 1.5 h. The mixture was cooled to 75°C, and 842 g of water, 1584 g of resorcinol and 432 g of formaldehyde (40%) were added. pH was measured, and adjusted with acid to 7.3-7.6 (under cooling) . Then, the mixture was again heated to 65°C and kept at this temperature for 1 h, whereupon it was heated to boiling and condensed to a viscosity of 200 Pas at 25°C, measured according to the Hδppler method. This batch was divided into two parts, in the follow¬ ing referred to as Example 1A and Example IB. In Example 1A, pH was adjusted to 7.4, and in Example IB, pH was adjusted to 8.5. Then, 39 parts by weight and 24 parts by weight, respectively, of ethylene glycol was added to 10ό parts by weight of resin in Examples 1A and IB, and the corresponding amount of water was distilled off. A portion of 1A and a portion of IB were kept without any glycol added. The following 6 resin compositions were obtained. The resin content was 56%. pH water ethylene glycol Example 1A 7.4 5% 39% 20% 24% 44% 0% Example IB 8.5 5% 39% " 20% 24% " 44% 0% These six resins were brought to a temperature of 20°C, whereupon paraformaldehyde was added as curing agent (100 parts by weight of resin + 6 parts by weight of para¬ formaldehyde). Immediately after the addition, 8 g was weighed in a dish having a height of 30 mm and a diameter of 50 mm. The dish was then immediately placed under a hood, and air was drawn past the adhesive mixture into a formaldehyde measuring instrument of the type InterScan, air flow l.i 1/min. The following emission values for formaldehyde were measured. These values are converted into % of the resin that only contains water as solvent. Here, 658 g of phenol, 525 g of formaldehyde (40%), 210 g of water and 21 g of NaOH (45%) were added. pH was adjusted to 7.50-8.0. The mixture was heated to 65°C and kept at this temperature for 1 h. Then, the mixture was heated to boiling and allowed to boil for 1.5 h. The mixture was cooled to 75°C, and 518 g of water, 1925 g of resorcinol and 578 g of formaldehyde (40%) were added. pH was measured and adjusted with acid to 7.7-8.0. Then, the mixture was again heated to 65 °C and kept at this tem¬ perature for 1 h. The mixture was thereafter heated to boiling, and condensed to a viscosity of 200 mPas at 25°C, measured according to the Hδppler method. The final pH was adjusted to 7.8. After the pH adjustment to 7.8, the batch was divided into three portions. To portion 2A was added ethylene gly¬ col in an amount of 35 parts by weight and 22 parts by weight, respectively, per 100 parts by weight of resin. To portion 2B was added 1, -butanediol in an amount of 35 parts by weight and 22 parts by weight, respectively, per 100 parts by weight of resin. The corresponding amount of water was distilled off. Portion 3 was kept unchanged. Then, the temperature was adjusted and paraformalde¬ hyde was added exactly as in Example 1. Measurements of formaldehyde emission, performed exactly as in Example 1, yielded the following results. The values are converted into % of the resin that only contains water as solvent. 5.7 18 12.6 31 100 This Example shows that both ethylene glycol and 1,4- butanediol act as solvents in low-emission adhesives. Example 3 In this Example, adhesive formulations according to Example l, i.e. containing 100 parts by weight of resin and 6 parts by weight of paraformaldehyde, were used for block gluings under the following conditions. Kind of wood: Pine Dimensions: 250 x 55 x 22 mm Glue spread: 300 g/m2 Assembly time closed (TA) : about 8 min and about 30 min Press temperature: 20C Pressure: 8 bar Press time: 18 h. Two glue lines were made for each variable. In the Table below, the results are indicated as % fibre rupture after cutting up the glue lines immediately after the process. Each reported value represents the mean value of two lines. Solvent System Water % Ethylene glycol % 5 39 5 39 20 24 20 24 44 0 44 0 Obviously, the fibre rupture is as satisfactory when some of the water has been replaced with ethylene glycol. Example 4 In this Example, the gluing operations were performed as in Example 3, but the resin had the same pH (7.8) and different solvents were used. The same resin as in Example 2 was used as adhesive. Solvent Fibre Ru ture % Also in this Example, the gluing operations were per¬ formed as in Examples 3 and 4. The same adhesive and mix¬ tures of curing agents were used as in Examples 3 and 4. Instead of cutting up the glue lines immediately after pressing, a delamination test was made according to Ameri¬ can Standard ASTM D1101 - 59 well-known in the art. Prior to delamination, the samples were conditioned for 1 -week at 20g and 65% RF. Two delamination cycles were run. After measuring the delamination, the glue lines were cut up for an assessment of the fibre rupture. The results indicated below represent mean values of two glue lines. As appears from these results, the glue lines are roughly equally good when water is replaced with glycol.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An adhesive composition based on resorcinol novo¬ lac or resorcinol-phenolic novolac, c h a r a c t e r¬ i s e d in that it contains 35-75% by weight of novolac, less than 25% by weight of water, and 10-40% by weight of an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol. 2. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the novolac has a molar ratio of formaldehyde to resorcinol or resorcinol phenol of less than 0.9:1. 3. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the proportion of phe¬ nol is up to 80 mole % of the total amount of resorcinol and phenol. 4. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 3>. c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the proportion of phe¬ nol is 40-60 mole % of the total amount of resorcinol and phenol. 5. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the viscosity is in the range of 300-10,000 mPas. 6. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that it further contains up to 20% by weight of filler, based on the amount of novo- lac, water and alcohol. 7. An adhesive composition as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d in that the divalent alcohol used is ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol or 1,4-butane- diol. 8. A method for preparing an adhesive composition based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-phenolic novo¬ lac, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by producing a novolac by conventional condensation, and then adding an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol and distilling off water in the novolac, such that the adhesive composi¬ tion contains 35-75% by weight of novolac, less than 25% by weight of water, and 10-40% by weight of an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol. 9. A method for preparing an adhesive composition based on resorcinol novolac or resorcinol-phenolic novo¬ lac, c h a r a c t e r i s e d by reducing the amount of water in the condensation of the novolac and replacing it ; with an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alco¬ hol, the resulting adhesive composition containing 35-75% by weight of novolac r less than 25% by weight of water, and 10-40% by weight of an aliphatic divalent, trivalent or tetravalent alcohol.

Inventors: BONINI MARIA, JANACKOVIC ANNA, NASLI-BAKIR BEN, BONINI, MARIA, JANACKOVIC, ANNA, NASLI-BAKIR, BEN
Applicants: BONINI MARIA, CASCO NOBEL AB, JANACKOVIC ANNA, NASLI BAKIR BEN
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C09J163
IPC codes: C08G8, C08K5, C09J161