Preparation and properties of a novel wood adhesive derived from antibiotic bacterial residues

Abstract

Due to an increased understanding of the potential applications of antibiotic bacterial residues (ABR), these resources have been investigated for use in the development of ABR-based wood adhesives. In this study, ABR were modified using NaOH, polyacrylamide (PAM), and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) to prepare a novel wood adhesive with epoxy resin (EP) as crosslinking agent. Characteristics of the ABR-based wood adhesive were investigated based on its solid content, viscosity, insoluble matter, moisture absorption rate, and both dry and wet shear strength. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for characterization of the ABR-based wood adhesive. Experimental results show that the optimal condition was as follows: 50 g ABR, 0.75 g PAM (0.5%), 0.5 g NaOH, SDBS (5 g, 10% wt.), and 20% EP. The EP content was found to directly affect the water resistance, mechanical strength and thermal stability of the adhesive. Application of the ABR adhesive synthesized under these optimal conditions to form plywood, resulted in a wet shear strength of 1.38 MPa, meeting the requirements of interior-use plywood. Therefore, this study indicates that ABR resources have good prospects and possibilities for use in ABR-based wood adhesives, in applications, such as plywood production.