HOW SOLVENT-FREE ADHESIVES ARE CHANGING FLEXIBLE PACKAGING

Environmental regulations continue to increase, spurring the growth and development of solvent-free adhesives. As cited in Food and Beverage News, these new adhesives are changing the flexible packaging industry. Let’s take a look at how:

What are Solvent-Free Adhesives?

Adhesives are deemed solvent-free if they contain no more than 5% solvent in their formulations. They offer the following advantages:

• Reduced health risks
• Improved environmental footprint
• Flexible processing time
• High initial strength

Two Main Types of Solvent-Free Adhesives Include:

• Water-based adhesives: the largest group of solvent-free technologies
  • Tend to have higher surface energies than solvent-based adhesives
  • Improve adhesive properties for a given application
• Hot melt adhesives: the fastest growing class of solvent-free technologies
  • Offer versatility and good cost in use
  • Have a rapid set time

How Solvent-Free Adhesives Benefit Flexible Packaging:

The Adhesive and Sealant Council cites the solvent-free adhesives have impacted the flexible packaging market in the following ways:

• Packages made with these adhesives are often lighter and take up less shelf space for display, storage and shipping.
• Solvent-free adhesives provide good clarity, temperature resistance and a humidity barrier.
• They are used to join layers of film, foils or paper in high-performance packaging.

Bostik offers solvent-free adhesive products for the flexible packaging market. These adhesives are:

• Environmentally friendly
• Low cost for production at high speed
• In accordance with the latest food regulations

Bostik’s solvent-free adhesives are perfect for general purpose applications, like film-to-film and film-to-metallized film for candy, salty snacks, bakery, meat and cheese packaging.

To learn more about our solvent-free adhesives, including our M-resins and JB-water based products, call 800-7-BOSTIK.

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