Safer Solvents

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Background Contact adhesives formulations consist of polymers (rubber and resin), a solvent blend and some additives. Solvent blends can include toxic chemicals such as toluene and hexane, which are considered volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are designated as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP) chemicals by the EPA, and present potential health, safety and environmental concerns to both the user and the surrounding environment.  Recent regulations seek to limit these solvents to maximum of 250 g/L of VOCs. The alternative water-based contact adhesives have significant performance issues such as excessive evaporation time, poor cold temperature stability, low bond strength and poor heat resistance. Methylene chloride based contact adhesives are also being used for low VOC markets, however, methylene chloride is also designated as a Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) chemical by the EPA. Hence, there is a need for safer and more environmentally friendly contact based adhesives. Technology Inventors at UMass Lowell have developed environment-friendly solvent blends that substitute for these hazardous solvents in these solvent-based contact adhesives to significantly reduce the negative health effects while maintaining the performance comparable to current commercial products. Testing has been performed on the commercial formulations with the following results: Low VOC: less than 250 g/L VOC content Strength:  firmly hold up to required cleavage strength for adhesives Evaporation: dry time of 2 to 5 minutes at 70 – 80°F Open window: open time up to 60 minutes Stability: stable at low temperatures (i.e. 40°F) Advantages Environment-friendly formulation Formulation involves no use of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) and do not introduce any significant environmental, health, and safety hazards Non-corrosive Low odor and colorless formulation Reduce the overall volatile organic compound (VOC) content Cost-comparative  ​Market Potential The green and bio-solvents market, along with its applications, witnessed a moderate-to-high growth in the past few years and is likely to continue so in the in the coming years. According to http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/green-bio-solvents-market-755.html the market size, in terms of value, of green & bio-solvents is estimated to be about USD 5.58 Billion in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 8.17 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 7.94% between 2015 and 2020. Based upon a 2015 article: “Estimating Emissions from Adhesives and Sealants Uses and Manufacturing for Environmental Risk Assessment”, 3,530,00 tons per year of adhesives and sealants are manufactured/used in Europe, out of which, 51% (1,810,000 tons) are water-borne and 49% (1,720,000 tons) are solvent-borne.      Patent Pending, World-wide protection available