1st prize BIOPOLYMER Award 2023

Hot-melt adhesives can be found in many products today and have long since conquered the DIY market. Up to a fifth of all adhesives today fall into this category! Nevertheless, no fully bio-based and biodegradable hot melt adhesive has been available on the market to date. This is all the more remarkable as adhesives can only rarely be removed from products for technical and economic reasons. For example, adhesives often end up as microplastics in the environment due to product use and wear, improper disposal or other circumstances. The researchers and developers at TITK have therefore turned their attention to a problem whose solution is as overdue as it is technically challenging! The courage of the TITK team led by project manager Andreas Krypczyk to take on this challenge and the result impressed the jury in equal measure: Caremelt®, when released into the environment, becomes fully part of natural cycles again through microorganisms and natural degradation processes. What's more, as a completely bio-based adhesive, it is CO2-neutral. The properties of the adhesive and its application profile can be compared with those of established hot-melt adhesives, taking into account the slightly lower thermal load capacity. The patent-pending composition of polylactic acid (PLA), polysuccinic acid (PBS), terpene and rosin resins, natural waxes and citric acid derivatives is not only suitable for short-life products such as shopping bags, diapers or cardboard packaging. Thanks to the new development from Thuringia, adhesive bonds in shoes, textiles, wood, metal or furniture parts and books can also be biodegradable in future.

Thüringisches Institut für Textil- und Kunststoff-Forschung Rudolstadt (TITK) e.V.
Breitscheidstraße 97
07407 Rudolstadt
Deutschland