Research carried out at the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (Esalq) at the University of São Paulo (USP) created a sustainable adhesive glue based on castor seed oil, which can be used for waterproofing reforestation wood. Known as polyurethane, the adhesive/waterproofing agent is the result of the search for products with low environmental impact and less sophisticated industrial processes.
Aline Maria Faria Cerchiari's research was presented to obtain the title of doctor in Sciences, through the Postgraduate Program in Forest Resources at Esalq, and was supervised by professor José Nivaldo Garcia. “The objective was to produce the adhesive in a simplified way. We extract the seed oil using a mechanical press in the laboratory and do not use chemical processes. The big advantage was not having to buy commercial oil, which is the biggest component in the manufacture of glue”, says the researcher.
With this new waterproofing product, the samples were submerged in water for up to 11 days for absorption testing. The glue proved to be effective with just one layer of application for lower density woods. “We added natural additives to improve the glue’s resistance, but even without the additives, the results were satisfactory”, he adds.
According to USP, modified adhesives produced from non-polluting and biodegradable renewable resources have opened new perspectives in the development of alternatives compared to traditionally used adhesives. “During the tests, we used three species of wood, one as a reference and two others that are not yet used in the wood engineering market”, he concludes.
Source: agrolink
