Wood Adhesives

Book excerpt: Wood adhesives are of tremendous industrial importance, as more than two-thirds of wood products in the world today are completely or partially bonded together using a variety of adhesives. Adhesive bonding offers many advantages over other joining methods for wood components, and there has been a great deal of R& D activity in devising new wood adhesives or improving the existing ones. The modern mantra in all industrial sectors is: "think green, go green," which has attracted much attention in the wood adhesive industry. Therefore, there is also a lot of research activity in synthesizing environmentally benign and human-friendly wood adhesives. This book is divided into four parts: Part 1: Fundamental Adhesion Aspects in Wood Bonding; Part 2: Synthetic Adhesives; Part 3: Environment-friendly adhesives; and Part 4: Wood Welding and General Paper. It addresses many different types of wood adhesives, as well as bonding (welding) of wood components without adhesives, a more recent development. The information contained in this book is valuable for individuals engaged in all aspects of wood adhesion and adhesives and, hopefully, will inspire new ideas in wood adhesives, a topic of vital industrial importance.