Biodegradable Hot melt Adhesive Compositions

Packaging materials that are fully biodegradable also involves the requirement of hot melt adhesive compositions that are biodegradable (35). The fundamental characteristics, general physical and mechanical behavior, and the recent developments in the knowledge of hot melt adhesives have been reviewed (36). 

Hot melt pressure sensitive adhesive compositions have been described, based on lactic acid polymers (37-39). However, such compositions have been claimed to be not suitable for the fields of food packaging as they have the drawbacks of being rather stiff and having a heat-reactivation temperature that is too high for food packaging applications (35). Hot melt compositions are shown in Table 7.8. 

The formulations given in Table 7.8 are representative of hot melt adhesive compositions with open assembly times of greater than 2 s, which makes them suitable for the application on rigid supports such as standard cardboards. The hot melt compositions can be prepared by simple mixing its components at a temperature of 100-200°C, until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. 

StiU other ingredients for compositions and suppliers have been described, in particular for breathable biodegradable hot melt ad- 

In some cases, hot melt adhesive compositions are tackified, plasticized and reinforced with a variety of resins, oils or waxes that have been originally and initially derived from petroleum feedstocks. These classic compositions are generally very resistant to degradation. However, sucrose benzoate has been investigated and described as a tackifier for water sensitive or biodegradable hot melt adhesives (41). 

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C. Robert, Biodegradable hot-melt adhesive composition, US Patent 8 067 492, assigned to Bostik SA (Paris la Defense Cedex, FR), November 29, 2011. 

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