Recently we published an article (here is a link to this article) with the negative influence of glue and chemical burns not only in large enterprises, but also in small factories and even at home, it was about terrible burns that require skin transplantation. The incident caused a violent response, including among many of our readers and customers. We have decided to explore as many directions as possible using chemicals that at first glance are simple, but clearly affect the health of the end user, and can also cause the greatest harm to the health of workers in production.

Thus, today we will analyze the direction of glue production for light industry (furniture, automotive industry, textile and office manufactories).

After consulting with our partners, colleagues and readers, we have selected the following common adhesives from different countries for testing: Jowatac 471.50, Wakol Intercoll L 1792, Sabaspray 2505, Dunlop W-18, alfaklei 201.

Well, let's sort this out.

The composition of these adhesives, according to the information provided by the manufacturers, is similar: it includes synthetic polymers, resins and solvents. And dichloromethane is used as the main solvent.

1. Ecological characteristics

Adhesives are used to make upholstered furniture and mattresses - and these are objects that are in close contact with a person and make up his environment almost everywhere - in the house, in the office, in the car, in the subway. It would be important to find out how safe is the use of these substances and adhesives in general? Do they release harmful compounds into the air we breathe? Do chemicals remain on our skin when using pieces of furniture and seats, etc.?

The test used to assess the environmental properties of adhesives was not developed by us, we will borrow it on the basis of tests carried out during certification according to OEKO-TEX standards.

Glued samples of identical materials were aged for 3 days, then placed in sealed chambers with subsequent chromatographic analysis of the air from these chambers - to assess the emission of released substances from the samples obtained.

Emission of volatile substances for adhesives:

According to this criterion, the leaders are alfaklei 201 and Jowatac 471.50.

2. Strength properties (operational qualities)

The main assessments that we conduct are related to the environmental characteristics of materials, but our subscribers have asked for tests on other criteria related to the performance of products. To evaluate these properties, we applied tests developed (again, not by us) based on adapted IKEA tests in Elmhult and Shanghai.

In the manufacture of upholstered furniture and mattresses, furniture manufacturers glue heterogeneous materials: foamed materials - polyurethane, latex; fibrous materials - coconut coir, holofiber, spunbond, textiles, felt.

In this test, we evaluated the tensile strength modulus of glued coconut coir with furniture foam with a density of 30 kg/m3 (25 cm x 25 cm), and also took into account the proportion of surface area with material detachment at complete rupture of parts. Gluing of these materials is taken as the most problematic according to the reviews of furniture manufacturing technologists. So, take a look at the results:

The strongest bonding and maximum surface coverage is observed when using alfaklei 201 and Sabaspray 2505. Coconut coir is responsible for the low strength values here – it is a fibrous material that is easily stratified.

3. Application technology

In addition to strength and environmental properties, the convenience of using glue is also important. To evaluate these parameters, we (after consulting with furniture manufacturing technologists) have developed a number of tests:

1. Open Time – the time during which effective bonding of the product can be carried out. It is especially important in the manufacture of furniture and mattresses that have a large surface area, because the glue application procedure itself can have a sufficiently long duration, therefore it is necessary that this time be long.

2. Set Time – the time it takes for the parts to be glued to interlock and no longer shift. Furniture manufacturers are interested in the coupling of parts as quickly as possible, so that this time is short.

3. Final Assembly Time – the time during which the glued product acquires strength at the level of 90% of the operational. When the operational strength is reached, the product is completely ready and it can be delivered to the end user. Attention to the result:

The most convenient in production, i.e. they have a large Open Time and a short Set Time, are alfaklei 201 and Jowatac 471.50.

4. Economic criteria

The economic efficiency of the products used is important for business. These criteria include the cost of glue and resource costs in the production of a unit of product. Marketing research is not included in the objectives of this article, so we will evaluate the economic efficiency by the amount of glue that is needed in the production of one sleeping mattress. Our partners kindly admitted us to the production and allowed us to make test five-layer mattresses with a spring block of independent springs measuring 160x200 cm. The resulting mattresses met key quality standards in terms of strength characteristics. We recorded the amount of glue spent on the production of each such mattress, and as usual, recorded it in our table:

There are no obvious leaders here, the required number of adhesives alfaklei 201, Intercoll L 1792, Jowatac 471.50 is approximately the same.

5. Availability of safety data sheets

Almost every article of our blog contains information about the absence and/or improper use of safety certificates of chemical products and its individual components, about the lack of knowledge and training of personnel to work with hazardous substances. About the risk of occupational injuries and other risks associated with hazardous substances.

To our great joy, all our representatives from the tests have the necessary security certificates and we had nothing to "find fault with". All five manufacturers comply with the COSH Risk Assessor Certification ™ directive, see below:

Thus, we see that there are no clear leaders in many tests, and the purpose of the article is not to identify leaders, but to identify safety and environmental violations in products and raw materials for these products. In any case, everyone can view the parameters of the test of interest in the form of a table and parameters to identify the leaders of interest.