To address the growing concerns about carbon footprint and the solid waste crisis, much work has been focused on increasing the use of renewable feedstocks in hot melt adhesives. A great deal of work has also been focused on the development of compostable hot melts and raw materials.
Adhesives which are designed to be industrially compostable represent a great challenge and require a departure from the use of traditional polymers and tackifiers. The polymers that are industrially compostable are inherently prone to hydrolytic and thermal instability. Moreover, relatively few biodegradable materials are available which are suitable as rheological modifiers/tackifiers and are compatible with the biodegradable polymers.
Despite these challenges hot melt adhesives have recently been developed which contain a new platform of biobased, biodegradable tackifiers. Although more work is needed to fully optimize performance, these adhesives exhibit good adhesion to compostable films and nonwovens and address the emerging need for industrial compostability as defined by ISO 14855.