In Germany, a researcher at the Fraunhofer WKI Institute for Wood Research is developing new bio-based adhesives with a focus on the renewable resource lignin. The aim of her review is to point out the advantages that bio-based materials can bring to adhesives compared to their petroleum-based counterparts beyond their renewability. Specifically, new functionalities through novel molecular architectures, the advantages of vegetable oils such as hydrophobicity, reduced human and environmental toxicity and the performance of bio-based compared to petroleum-based adhesives are covered.
Bio-based materials are attracting more and more attention in all fields due to their improved environmental footprint and due to the independence from petroleum resources that comes with their use. This is also true in the field of adhesives, where renewable materials from biopolymers to monomers derived from renewable resources are increasingly investigated. However, their sustainability is rarely a sufficient argument for their commercialisation, especially if the new materials cannot be implemented as drop-in replacements for existing technology.