DOMOTEX 2018

•••8••• Innovationen ATP adhesive systems AG www.atp-ag.com Halle: 13 • Stand: F31 Holzpunkt AG www.holzpunkt.ch Halle: 9 • Stand: G37/3 Michel Van de Wiele nv www.vandewiele.com Halle: 5 • Stand: B56 Mozart AG www.mozart-blades.com Halle: 13 • Stand: A31 Murexin GmbH www.murexin.at Halle: 13 • Stand: F36 Shijiazhuang Artweaver Co., Ltd. www.artweaver.com.cn Halle: 4 • Stand: E60/1 Nichtaussteller: VNU Exhibitions Asia Ltd. www.domotex asiachinafloor.com Messetelegramm Anzeige The mysterious scent of adhesives Researchers succeeded in identifying odourants in acrylic adhesives that can be hazardous for humans I t is a known fact that adhesives may smell unpleasant. However, as Fraunhofer researchers have recently discovered, this doesn’t need to be the case. Through ex- tensive research on acrylic adhe- sives they were able to identify the substances responsible for the offensive odours. Manufac- turers have the opportunity to op- timize their production process. Nowadays almost all products feature adhesives – for example, they are found in windshields, cell phone displays, shoes or carpets. Some adhesives contain solvents that smell unpleasant. However, solvent-free products or those with a low concentration of sol- vents can also emit a pungent odour. There is as yet very little known about which substances cause the stench and how they af- fect the human body. The Depart- ment of Sensory Analytics at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV is committed to researching this issue. Department head Profes- sor Andrea Büttner and her team have tested four solvent-free acrylic adhesives to find out which components trigger the offensive odours. Hazardous substances In their analyses, the researchers were able to identify 27 odour- ants that were causing the un- pleasant smells. These include methyl methacrylate, acetophe- none, 1-butanol, 4-methylphenol, phenylacetic acid methyl ester and acetic acid. It was the first time that 20 substances, includ- ing the chemical compound bor- neol, were identified as odour- active compounds in adhesives. This variety of substances was matched by the breadth of odour impressions, which ranged from pungent, fruity and leathery to smoky and moldy. “If a product emits a particularly strong odour, this can indicate the presence of hazardous substances,” says Professor Büttner. Some of the samples contained phenolic com- pounds suspected of being mu- tagenic. Professor Büttner sees a clear need for action to optimize the product development of ad- hesives. “Our analysis shows that a series of substances we found ought to be eliminated, and not just in terms of odour emissions. Strong odours can most definite- ly cause headaches and dizziness. We should be asking why adhe- sives smell. The mindset of both the user and the manufacturer needs to change in this regard.” Different methods Scientists at Fraunhofer offer manufacturers solutions and tar- geted strategies to improve adhe- sives and other everyday non-food products – including paints, bind- ers, furniture, softeners, deter- gents and plastics – from the point of view of the odourants they contain. “We’ve set ourselves the task of supporting manufacturers in product development, as the methods they employ mean they are often not in a position to know which of the components are causing the odours. This requires special analysis as well as trained test subjects to detect triggers, possible impurities and byprod- ucts arising during the manufac- turing process,” emphasizes the food chemist. The results of the research conducted by the scien- tist and her colleagues provide the basis for psychological and toxico- logical evaluations of hazardous substances. For their analyses, the researchers rely on different methods and de- vices, such as gas chromatography and mass spectrometry; these en- able them to carry out simulated exposure studies in real-life situ- ations to detect and quantify the substances being emitted. In oth- er words, the researchers deter- mine how much is being emitted in normal use. In short: the ana- lytical requirements are high. The detection methods must cover as broad a spectrum of chemical sub- stances as possible, since odour- ants are not a chemically uniform group. Their only commonality is that they are volatile. In addition, the analysis must differentiate be- tween odour-active and -inactive substances. Machine detectors are only partly capable of achiev- ing this, the human nose is still ir- replaceable. Followyour nose Weekly sensory training sessions are held at Fraunhofer IVV to train test subjects on becoming odour experts. The test subjects are given samples in odourless glass containers. The sensor panel sets characteristic odour attributes for each sample; in a second sensory session, it evaluates them against reference compounds on a prede- termined scale. The overall inten- sity and the personal preference or dislike of an odour impression is evaluated, with the mean values of the evaluations being used to sum- marize an odour profile. Philipp Denk researches all types of adhesive components. His cur- rent focus is the acrylic adhesive group, following which he will ana- lyze physio tapes, some of which also contain odor-intensive com- pounds. “A globalized market and an ever-growing e-commerce sec- tor is a major challenge for the offi- cial testing authorities – regarding the wide range of products they must test for hazardous compo- nents. That’s why we’re develop- ing new technologies in order to support quality control and official entities and allow decentralization of the testing of products for haz- ardous substances.” The researchers rely on a variety of analysis methods, including gas chromatography, to detect the causes of unpleasant odors in acrylic adhesives. Photo: Fraunhofer IVV Holzfu böden resistent machen Unter der Bezeichnung „Surf-Parquet“ startete am 1. November 2017 im Institut für Holztechnologie Dresden (IHD) ein neues Forschungsprojekt zur Entwicklung struk- turierter Oberflächen für Holzfußböden mit optimaler Resistenz gegenüber Bauchemi- kalien. Ziel des Projektes ist die Entwicklung neuartiger strukturierter Oberflächenbe- schichtungen für Parkette sowie die Ver- besserung der Resistenz von Parketten ge- genüber Bauchemikalien. Des Weiteren soll eine Testmethode zur Beurteilung der che- mischen Resistenz ausgearbeitet werden. Surf-Parquet wird durch das vom Bundes- ministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWI) finanzierte Netzwerk CORNET ge- fördert und erstreckt sich über eine Lauf- zeit von zwei Jahren. Projektpartner sind die Holzforschung Austria und der Fachver- band der Holzindustrie. Das Konsortium ar- beitete bereits erfolgreich im Vorgänger- projekt „EUROPARQUET, 15th CORNET Call“ zusammen. Ansprechpartner für das Pro- jekt Surf-Parquet im IHD sind Dr. Andreas Fischer (andreas.fischer@ihd-dresden.de ), Prof. Dr. Mario Beyer (mario.beyer@ihd- dresden.de ) und Malgorzata Anna Adams- ka-Reiche (anna.reiche@ihd-dresden.de ).