The incorporation of biobased lignin molecules in silane terminated polymers and the effect on the properties was studied.
Lignin is one of the most abundant available biopolymers, between 60 and 70 million metric tons of lignin are available from wood pulp and paper industry. Around 95% is currently burned as it is not yet a commodity product which can be used as a building block due to its variety in composition.
A research study was initiated to incorporate lignin based bio-aromatic building blocks into MS PolymerTM. One of the major hurdles to take was the unexpected incompatibility of the bio-aromatics with the MS PolymerTM. A solution was found by modifying the lignin molecules with non-reactive and reactive groups resulting in compatible bio-aromatics.
The non-reactive molecules could be blended in the MS PolymerTM and the final formulations, whereas the reactive molecules could be build-in in the silane terminated polyethers and acrylates. Results will be shown that the thermal and UV-stability could be significantly increased without affecting the standard properties.
Final a hard coating or primer could be developed with high content of biobased material which shows excellent adhesion to an MS PolymerTM based sealant and high chemical resistance.
The study shows a high potential of the lignin bio-aromatics to increase the biobased part in sealants and adhesives.