Physicochemical Characteristics and Bonding Performance of Cellulose-Starch Based Bio-Adhesives on Medang, Meranti, and Balam Wood

Abstract

The global shift toward a sustainable economic paradigm is pushing the forest products industry to transition from emission-based petroleum-based adhesives to bio-adhesive alternatives. Cellulose-based adhesives from cardboard waste and starch offer a sustainable solution due to the abundance of hydroxyl groups (-OH) that play a crucial role in the adhesion process. This research aims to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of cellulose-starch-based adhesives and compare their adhesive performance with the synthetic adhesive polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) on three types of wood: medang, meranti, and balam. The research procedure includes measuring the wood density and testing the adhesive characteristics, which encompass appearance tests, acidity (pH), evaporation residue, viscosity, and pot life. Adhesion tests were conducted comparatively between the bio-adhesive and PVAc on the three wood samples. The research results show that balam wood has the highest density (0.48 g/cm³), followed by medang (0.46 g/cm³) and meranti (0.38 g/cm³). On the other hand, the physicochemical characteristics of cellulose-starch-based adhesives have a homogeneous appearance without interfering particles and an acidic nature (pH 3-5). Although it has a low evaporation residue (1.30%–8.04%), the adhesive shows high viscosity due to the strong water-binding capacity in the cellulose-starch polymer network. The adhesion parameters of the three types of wood showed very strong adhesion results, comparable to the performance of PVAc.

Keywords: Bio-adhesive, Cardboard Cellulose, Starch, Adhesion, PVAc