Application Prospect Of Waterborne Polyurethane Adhesives In Shoemaking Industry

With the development of the economy, 600 thousand tons of adhesives are used every year, and more than 90% are solvent based adhesives. These adhesives contain a large amount of organic solvents such as toluene, xylene, butanone, acetone, ethyl acetate and alkanes, which account for 80% or more of the total weight of the glue.

These organic solvents have certain toxicity. Some of the inferior adhesives are even produced by benzene, and the toxicity is even greater.

Except for adhesives,

Cleaning agents, finishing agents and polishing agents are also widely used.

A large number of organic solvents are also used.

In addition to the occupational diseases caused by direct contact, the organic solvents in the atmosphere generate photochemical reactions under the action of ultraviolet radiation and produce two pollutants, such as ozone and aldehydes.

In addition, volatile organic compounds are flammable and explosive.

The fire and explosion protection in pportation, storage and use put forward higher requirements.

In the shoemaking industry, according to the EU directive rule 1999/13/EG, by October 31, 2005, the VOC limit of each pair of shoes is 37.5g, and by October 31, 2007, VOC is 25g.

For Nike, Adidas and other sports shoes brand, the demand for VOC is even higher. At present, the VOC of each pair of shoes is lower than 25g, but they are still adopting various processes and methods to lower the VOC of each pair of shoes, and zero VOC is the ultimate goal.

At present, the environmental laws and regulations adopted by European and American countries are quite strict. Water-based shoe adhesive has become a universal standard in the European and American footwear industry.

But the standard is relatively lagging behind, most shoe companies are still habitually using very harmful oil shoe glue.

Affected by this, some strength shoe companies began to consciously choose water-based shoe glue instead of oily shoe glue.

Nevertheless, in the shoemaking industry, in addition to some international brand shoe processing plants, some foreign trade orders and a small number of domestic brand shoes enterprises, it can be said that there is no manufacturer to calculate and control the emissions of unit VOC, and conservative estimates that the VOC of each pair of shoes is about 100g.

In the whole industry, in 2013, more than 500 thousand tons of organic solvents were directly discharged into the atmosphere.

Environmentally friendly waterborne adhesives are the development direction of the footwear industry. The use of waterborne polyurethane adhesives is of great significance no matter from the green barriers to international trade, or from the standpoint of creating a harmonious society, protecting employees and protecting the environment.

Green manufacturing is the trend of the times. We advocate more shoe enterprises to join the ranks of green environmental protection, care for the community and care for the environment. We also call on the government to introduce policies to prohibit the use of "three benzene" glue, and to restrict the use of solvent based adhesives, and to support and help use environmentally friendly adhesives such as waterborne polyurethane.

It is hoped that the promotion and use of environmental friendly waterborne adhesives will become a fast lane for Chinese shoe enterprises, providing a blue sky for the realization of "ecological country and beautiful homeland".