Adhesives -historical perspective

Most adhesives are polymers, which, at present, are derived fi om petroleum feedstocks. Clearly, petroleum is a non-renewable resource. Controversy attends predictions of how long reserves will last, but there are some authorities, at least, that predict a permanent downturn in production within the first or second decade of the present century. How this will affect polymer production and use is, of course, impossible to say. Here, it is relevant to point out that there have long been adhesives in use that are obtained from animal and vegetable sources see Renewable sources of adhesives and Adhesives - historical perspective. 

Adhesives - historical perspective M W PASCOE Adhesives before the industrial age... 

More recently, there has been a renewed recognition of the potential of bark-derived polyphenols for adhesives as a result of improved understanding of the chemical structure of these materials (, 5), new types of formulations (5), and the fact that tannins are being commercially used in adhesives in South Africa (7), thus serving as a prototype for utilization in other parts of the world. In order to properly assess the current developments in this field, this overview will provide a historical perspective on adhesives based on tannins as well as a summary of the extraction techniques and chemical structures. Finally, areas where additional work could be fruitful will be suggested. 

IV. UV CURING/A NEW TECHNOLOGY IN ACRYLIC ADHESIVES A. Historical Perspective/Technology Review... 

For readers who are involved in metal stmctural bonding, for automotives, metal working, mechanics, composites, etc. this chapter will provide a great deal of very valuable information about adhesives for metals and composites. It also shows how aircraft bonding developed step by step over the last 50 years from a historical perspective. 

In the context of a book on adhesives from renewable resources, blood- and casein-based adhesives are worthy of mention because of their great historical importance to the adhesives industry. Caseins are particularly important because they were the first adhesives recognized for forming structurally capable bonds in wood products. They have been used since 1880 and they are still the preferred materials for many types of bonding due to their excellent adhesive properties and ease of cure. Despite their animal origins, these materials are far from plentiful. This makes them quite expensive in terms of wood adhesives, which is the viewpoint of this discussion. The review of the history, nature, manufacturing, and uses of these materials that follows may help to develop a perspective on their future usefulness to the adhesives industry. 

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