Alkali-treated wheat gluten cross-linked with sodium alginate as a bio-based wood adhesive for interior grade particleboard

Abstract

A bio-based wood adhesive formulation free of formaldehyde and made from alkali-treated wheat gluten (WG) and sodium alginate (SA) was developed. Its formulation was optimised, and it was characterised by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The bio-adhesive was utilized to make particleboards both with virgin wood particles and recycled wood particles. A dry bio-adhesive content of 35% (w/w) was used to make samples with both type of particles. Single-layer samples of 10 mm thickness were obtained using wood particles of 1 mm (both virgin and recycled). These samples then were subjected to 3-point bending tests. Whereas the bending strength of samples made with recycled wood particles was 18.09 N/m2 and therefore satisfied Type 18 of the Japanese industrial standards (JIS A 5908:2015), the bending strength of the samples made with virgin wood particles was 8.08 N/m2 and satisfied ‘Type 8 Base particleboard Decorative particleboard’ of the Japanese standards. The density of particleboard samples made from recycled wood particles was 916 kg/m3, while that of samples made from virgin wood particles was 732 kg/m3. The alkali-treated WG and SA bio-adhesive has the potential to be used to re-manufacture particleboards, which can then be recycled and not disposed in landfills.