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Natural eco-friendly glue

24.07.2012

Most of the things around us are glued together. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute (UMSICHT) see this as a problem, since adhesives are still predominantly made from petroleum feedstocks. Thus, only in Germany in 2010 more than 820 thousand tons of glue were produced. However, adhesives can be made from renewable raw materials such as proteins, natural rubber, starch or cellulose. Researchers at UMSICHT are working to develop new formulas for the adhesive needed to make shoes, cars, airplanes, wind turbine blades, self-adhesive stickers, plaster, and more.

Scientists are developing a new pressure-sensitive adhesive for industrial applications. Such glue is suitable for a lot of household items: patches, adhesive tapes, labels, etc. The requirements for this type of adhesive are quite high: it must retain its properties at room temperature for a long time, stick together at low pressure, but at the same time be easily peeled off surfaces. German researchers have focused on the development of a polylactic acid polymer adhesive. This biological material is inexpensive and is produced on an industrial scale, which in the future will make it possible to abandon the use of oil as a raw material.

However, the properties of lactic acid polymer are fundamentally different from the polymers used today, in particular from polyacrylates and styrene. This means that scientists must develop an entirely new formula for the adhesive. This is quite possible - nature is an example of this. So, the mollusk Dosima fascicularis produces a special glue with which it is attached to the bottom of ships. This superglue is so strong that it is almost impossible to unhook the clam from the boat even with strong solvents. At the same time, it has a special property - it sticks together even under water.

German scientists are trying to create a similar water-dispersion adhesive, the components of which are dissolved in water. Researchers are currently trying to figure out which amino acids make up biological superglue proteins. If successful, it will be possible not only to abandon oil raw materials and improve household items such as adhesive tape, but also create, for example, medical adhesives for closing wounds and “repairing” broken bones.

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The best gift is for yourself 14.08.2017

People will most of all be happy to receive from you the same gift that you gave to yourself - now this intuitively understandable idea is confirmed by the study of two psychologists, Professor Evan Polman (Evan Polman) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) and Professor Sam Mallo (Sam Maglio) from the University of Toronto (Canada). Their article, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, retells a press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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