Development of Washed Cottonseed Meal-Based Wood Adhesives for Industrial Application

Plant seed meal-based products can be used as green wood adhesives. We have tested the bonding performance of defatted cottonseed meal (CSM), water-washed cottonseed meal (WCSM), and cottonseed protein isolate (CSPI). CSM was cheap but showed poor water resistance. CSPI showed better adhesive performance, but it was expensive. WCSM, a new product we developed, possessed the adhesive strength comparable to CSPI, but it is more cost-efficient and environment-friendly than CSPI. To promote it as an industrial wood adhesives, WCSM was produced in a pilot-scale. The product was characterized in regards to chemical composition, physical properties and bonding strength in order to establish the quality standards in industrial production. Practical application of the pilot-produced WCSM product was explored. Per the experimental data, WCSM-based adhesives could be used as low-temperature glues for the domestic small utensils bonding (such as in pencil making), high-temperature adhesives for interior non-structural plywood making, and greener blending adhesive with urea formaldehyde resin for wood based composites production.