Pierre Knockaert

Application Development Scientist

Eastman Chemical Company

Biography

Pierre Knockaert attained his degree in Biochemistry in Ghent following which he spent 20 years across industries to become a skilled formulator and material scientist. In his former years, he worked for Arcelormittal in organic, inorganic, vitreous and metallic coatings for a wide range of applications namely, OEM, construction, home appliances and piping. Since he joined Eastman in 2017, he has been involved in the development and application of novel durable polyester polyols for food can coatings. Currently he is transitioning to adhesives where he is leveraging his polyester polyols formulating knowledge to reactive polyols used in PU hotmelts.

Presentation Abstract

High Tg and Low Viscosity Amorphous Polyester Polyols for Demanding Polyurethane Hot Melt Adhesive Applications

High Tg amorphous polyester polyols have been widely used in polyurethane hot melt adhesive applications due to their ability to improve green strength, adhesion to various substrates, as well as heat and chemical resistance of the bonded structures. However, conventional high Tg amorphous polyester polyols usually possess high melt viscosity, leading to higher viscosity of the formulated adhesives and causing quality inconsistencies in applications. In addition, conventional high Tg amorphous polyester polyols demonstrate poor compatibility with common key components in polyurethane hot melt adhesive formulations, such as polyether polyols and hydrocarbon-based tackifiers. This paper highlights recent developments of high Tg and low viscosity polyester polyols based on 2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (TMCD). By incorporating TMCD in the polymer backbone, a similar glass transition temperature can be achieved of a workhorse product but at 6 times lower viscosity, resulting in improved application consistency. Additionally, the TMCD-based polyester polyols demonstrate outstanding hydrolytic stability at elevated temperatures and enhanced compatibility with the key components of polyurethane hot melts. Most interestingly, adhesives containing the TMCD-based polyester polyols exhibit greater adhesion strength to low surface energy substrates. All these performance attributes significantly improve quality consistency, simplify application, and reduce cost-in-use for converters, while expanding design space for formulators.

 

Co-author: Rui Xie

Presentation Time

Breakout V - Developments in Reactive Adhesives

Thursday, 12 September 2024, 16:30 - 17:00

FEICA Conference