Home

Search History

Clear History

Hot Searches

Change

Subscribe eNews

Once A Week Once Every Two Weeks

Applications

EREMA to show high-quality recycling solutions at CHINAPLAS 2026

ENGEL’s high-performance automotive solutions at CHINAPLAS 2026

ST BlowMoulding to unveil multiple innovative hollow moulding solutions at CHINAPLAS 2026

Products

Chambroad to highlight specialization and innovation at CHINAPLAS 2026

Evonik displays its latest solutions at CHINAPLAS 2026

Kistler’s cavity pressure sensor for injection molding trainings

Activities

CHINAPLAS 2026：VDMA “The Power of Plastics” forum highlights digitalization and circularity
Must-attend: CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Conference in Shanghai
Beyond procurement: Exploring the concurrent events at CHINAPLAS 2026

Pictorial

Webinars

[Mandarin] Covestro: Innovative thermal conductive material solution for new-generation network devices

[Mandarin] Covestro: The Material Effect: Empowering Innovations in Solar-Storage-Charging Smart Energy and Data Center Applications

[Mandarin] Covestro: The Material Effect Amids the Humanoid Robot Development Surge

Conferences

14th Edition CPRJ Plastics in Packaging Conference and Showcase

7th Edition CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Conference and Showcase

swop x CPRJ The Digital and Intelligent Carbon Reduction Revolution in Plastic Packaging — From Material Innovation to Circular Ecosystem

Industry Topic

ASEAN: The Next Manufacturing Hub

Innovative and Sustainable Packaging

Green Plastics: News & Insights

CHINAPLAS

CHINAPLAS 2026 Focus

CHINAPLAS 2025 Focus

CHINAPLAS 2024 Focus

Exhibition Topic

K Focus

CHINA INSIGHT

Fakuma 2024 Highlights

News Videos

Ready for CHINAPLAS 2026? Two tools for your visit

Interview: Ada Leung, General Manager, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.

KUMHO-SUNNY: Your selection logic is already outdated!

Conference Videos

[Mandarin session: Highlights] Covestro: Innovative thermal conductive material solution for new-generation network devices

[Mandarin session: Highlights] Covestro: The Material Effect: Empowering Innovations in Solar-Storage-Charging Smart Energy and Data Center Applications

[Mandarin session: Highlights] Covestro: In-mold Coating (DC/IMC) Technology - Facilitating Personalized Design for Automotive Interior and Exterior Components

Corporate/Product Videos

About Dow

B Series brush machine

Innovative PVC Compounds for Global Manufacturing | Visit Us Booth 6.2A 39 at CHINAPLAS

Exhibition

Live CHINAPLAS Live 2026

Playback TECHHUB 2025@CPRJ Live Streaming for CHINAPLAS

Playback TECHHUB@CPRJ Live Streaming for CHINAPLAS

Events

Reservation 7th Edition CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Conference and Showcase

Playback On April 14, the "6th Edition CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Conference and Showcase" at the Crowne Plaza Shenzhen Nanshan is currently being livestreamed!

Playback 5th Edition CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Conference and Showcase

News

Events

SPE Asia

Special

Live

eNews

Essential Guide

Event Calendar

Survey

CHINA INSIGHT

Comment
(0)

Home > News > Recycling

Scientists invent degradable adhesive that prevents sticky issues in recycling

Source：Adsale Plastics Network Date ：2023-07-10 Editor ：JK

Adhesive residue left on recyclable materials, such as glass and cardboard, can now be dissolved thanks to the introduction of degradable polymers created by University of Surrey scientists.

Sticky residue causes problems in the recycling industry, ranging from low-quality products, blocked water systems and even damaged recycling machinery.

The newly invented adhesive, very similar to that used on commercial packaging tape, has a chemical additive known as thionolactone which makes up 0.25% of the composition. This additive allows the adhesive to be dissolved in the recycling process, something which was previously not possible. Labels can also be detached up to 10 times faster when compared to a non-degradable adhesive.

Adhesive

Adhesive residue left on recyclable materials can now be dissolved thanks to a new degradable polymers.

Professor Joseph Keddie, Leader of the Soft Matter Physics laboratory at the University of Surrey and fellow of the Surrey Institute for Sustainability, said, "Adhesives are made from a network of chain-like polymer molecules, irreversibly linked them together, which leads to the residue build-up we see left behind when recycling materials such as glass and cardboard."

"The problem of network residues is frustrating on an industrial scale and consequences of insoluble adhesives on the quality of recycled products are of even greater concern. Our solution offers the promise of less challenging and more cost-effective recycling," he continued. "Our additive creates what we call degradable thioester connections in the polymer network and provides an innovative solution to making recycling processes residue free."

Dr. Peter Roth, Senior Lecturer of Polymer Chemistry at the University of Surrey, and fellow of the Surrey Insitute for Sustainability, stated, "While other degradable adhesives exist, there are none which resemble what is currently used industry-wide in their chemical make-up."

"We are proving it is possible to use similar adhesives and show that a simple additive has the potential to increase the quality of recycled materials such as glass and cardboard," he said. "The next steps would be to look at the commercial viability of this additive, as well as look at the sustainability impact."

So far, the adhesive has been tested on glass, steel, plastic and paper, including cardboard. The paper has been published in the German Chemical Society journal Angewandte Chemie.

Like 丨 {{details_info.likes_count}}

Adhesive

Recycling

SACMI (SHANGHAI) MACHINERY EQUIPMENT CO., LTD.

DONGGUAN DEHUA PRECISION MOLD CO., LTD

ZHANGJIAGANG XINRONG MACHINERY CO.,LTD

JUHESHUN ADVANCED MATERIALS CO., LTD.

HEFEI TAIHE INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO.,LTD.

BEIJING ENERGY ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES CO.,LTD.

WINDORA MATERIALS LLC

GREENWICH (CHINA) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT LIMITED

GREENCORE RESOURCES LIMITED

QINGDAO BOUNI NEW MATERIALS CO.,LTD

LINKER NEW MATERIALS CO., LTD

Coperion GmbH

SHANGHAI HAWKWAY PROCESS SOLUTIONS CO., LTD

GUANGXI HENGYI NEW MATERIALS CO., LTD.

TAIZHOU MIXIN MACHINERY CO., LTD.

ZHEJIANG ROTOUN PLASTIC TECHNOLOGY CORP.

GUANGDONG GUOHENG YOUHE ADVANCED MATERIALS CO., LTD.

KADIDE

GUANGXI WUZHOU GUOLONG RECYCLABE RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

SUZHOU BECHTON PLASTIC MACHINERY CO., LTD

YUYAO KAWAGUCHI Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

LINYI HUASU ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.

GUANGDONG ENMEI CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD

ANHUI ZHONGXIN HONGWEI TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD

FUJIAN NAN'AN STAR RUBBER&PLASTIC MACHINERY CO., LTD.

ZHANGJIAGANG GREENLANDPLAST MACHINERY CO.,LTD

FUJIAN YANGZHU NEW MATERIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD

HUBEI XINJIANSHI MACHINERY TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD

HEBEI GELIA PLASTIC MACHINERY SALES COMPANY

FOSHAN SHUNDE MINGSANFENG MOULD CO., LTD.

The content you're trying to view is for members only. If you are currently a member, Please login to access this content. Login

Source：Adsale Plastics Network Date ：2023-07-10 Editor ：JK

Sticky residue causes problems in the recycling industry, ranging from low-quality products, blocked water systems and even damaged recycling machinery.

Adhesive

Adhesive residue left on recyclable materials can now be dissolved thanks to a new degradable polymers.

So far, the adhesive has been tested on glass, steel, plastic and paper, including cardboard. The paper has been published in the German Chemical Society journal Angewandte Chemie.