Rohm and Haas to present solvent-free laminating adhesives at drupa

Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas will present solvent-free laminating adhesives at drupa 2008. These adhesives products are said to enhance environmental benefits and productivity for food packaging.

Through water-based acrylic technology, Robond adhesives offer properties that are aimed at drupa's European converter attendees, who are challenged by increasing regulation and informed, highly aware consumers. Rohm and Haas's second-generation Robond technology offers environmentally advanced formulations, excellent food safety and faster processing during packaging, according to the company.

'For converters, our water-based adhesives improve worker safety and eliminate solvent emissions as well as the energy and equipment required to handle them during the lamination,' stated Pierangelo Brambilla, Rohm and Haas's European champion for water-based technology, who notes that water replaces the solvent usually needed in these bonding agents. 'Additionally,' he said, 'these adhesives tackle solvent-retention concerns that can affect food quality and also eliminate primary aromatic amine (PAA) formation,' referring to a food contact concern related to aromatic solvent-based bonding options that has drawn intense legislative and public scrutiny.

Robond adhesives provide high shear strength that allows faster slitting to streamline the laminating process, thereby allowing converters to lower inventory and reduce delivery time to customers – key productivity advantages in the very competitive flexible packaging market, which is currently experiencing high customer cost pressures. More versatile, new second-generation products now offer enhanced capabilities that handle general and medium performance applications, as well as selected, higher-performance applications such as triplex
structures containing aluminum foil used in the packaging of aggressive foodstuffs.

For drupa 2008 attendees operating solvent-free polyurethane systems, the company's solventless Mor-Free ELM series will also be featured as another key environmentally advanced technology. 'The amount of free isocyanate monomer in Mor-Free ELM products is below 0.1 percent, which drastically lowers the risk of PAA formation and therefore reduces the waiting time needed prior to shipment,' explained Agnes Roger, Rohm and Haas's European commercial manager for packaging and converting, who adds that Mor-Free ELM bonding agents are well suited for general to medium performance food packaging applications.

The company recently signaled its firm commitment to this technology by investing two million Euros in its Mozzate, Italy facility to support its ELM series production. The company has introduced a number of advances in this technology arena, most recently including the first solventless adhesive for foil retort packaging and the first 'no barrier' solventless adhesive for fresh-cut packaging.