Sustainable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives:
New Bio-based & Biodegradable Systems

New Bio-based Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Lineup

Product Features 1) PSAs with up to 80% biomass content achieved by synthesizing the base polymer with bio-based raw materials. 2) New lineup includes removable bio-based PSAs, a feat considered difficult to achieve by conventional bio-based systems.

Type Peel range Bio-based content PolymerType
Traditional High 20% Acrylic
High Bio-based Content High 80% Urethane
High 75% Acrylic
Removable Middle to low 10% Acrylic
Low 10％ Urethane

What are Bio-based PSAs? What is Biomass Content?

Bio-based PSAs are partially composed of plant-derived resources as their raw material. The biomass content is expressed as a percentage (dry weight basis) of the bio-based material used in an adhesive product.

Examples of plant-derived resources:
starches, sugars, oils, cellulose from trees, straw and cotton, etc.

What are the advantages of bio-based PSAs?

Lower CO2 emissions

Bio-based PSAs are considered "carbon neutral" because their plant-derived raw materials absorb as much CO2 when growing as they release when incinerated at the end of product life. There is no overall increase in greenhouse gases that can lead to global warming, resulting in notably reduced CO2 emissions compared to conventional, purely petroleum-based formulations.

PSAs with bio-based contents up to 80% can reduce CO2 emissions by roughly 40%(*) during incineration, when compared to their purely petroleum-based counterparts.

*Inventory Database for Environmental Analysis version 2.2 [IPCC 2013 GWP 100a] took precedence over other databases, but some calculations are based on our own measurements.
Lower demand for petroleum sources

Most of the raw materials used for conventional PSAs are derived from fossil fuels, which are limited in supply. Bio-based PSAs can help reduce the demand for petroleum sources by replacing them with renewable plant-based materials.

Biodegradable Pressure Sensitive Adhesives

Product Features 1) Biodegradable and returnable to the earth at end of service life. 2) Using plant-derived materials in the PSA layer makes it possible to achieve a biomass content of 45%.

(*) At 60 days into the trial
Type Peel range Biodegradation Content Biomass Content Polymer type
Biodegradable High <60%(*) 45% Urethane
The biodegradability of Toyochem’s new PSA product was confirmed under controlled composting conditions as prescribed by the Japanese Standards Association’s JIS K 6953-1 (equivalent of the international standard ISO 14855-1). At the end of service life, the PSA breaks down into CO2, water, nitrogen and methane by the interaction with microorganisms.

What is the advantage of biodegradable PSAs?

Creating biodegradable products

In the past, even when a paper or film substrate was replaced with a biodegradable material, the PSA layer contained within the structure could not be decomposed. Now, however, by combining a base substrate with our new biodegradable PSA system, you can help to improve the overall biodegradability of these products.

従来の粘着剤を使用 生分解性の粘着剤を使用

Toyochem's adhesive products are suitable for a variety of industries.

  • Packaging
  • Agriculture
  • Forestry
  • Civil Engineering

To request a TDS or samples

Technical details and test samples for Toyochem's new sustainable PSA solutions are now available.

If you are looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of your product, please feel free to contact us.