Eco-Friendly Tape with Natural Adhesive and Film Materials
Although tape is a practical and useful material, it poses a threat to our environment since it is produced from petroleum-derived products. For this purpose, an environmentally friendly and useful tape material that will not pose a threat to nature has been produced
in our study. It is obtained from oriented polypropylene (OPP) polymer for the transparent film structure, while the special stickiness is imparted to the film from mountain gum.
With the obtained natural tape, the mechanical properties of the films in the market
were determined. It is aimed that our tape obtained will appeal to multi-purpose use as an environmentally friendly material.
1. Introduction
The substances that hold the materials together are defined as adhesives. In the application of adhesion, it is the process of holding each other from the forehead surfaces as a result of the attraction force due to the interaction of two different surfaces between ions and atoms.
As adhesives, there are physical materials such as solid, liquid, paste and tape in the market. The first use of adhesive material in history dates back to 4000 BC. When the archaeological studies were examined, the tribes glued the pots they used with the
resin obtained from the tree sap.
In the 1700s, the use of adhesives became quite common. Adhesives are also
divided into two main headings.
Adhesives can be broadly divided into two groups:
1) Inorganic adhesives,
2) Organic adhesives,
a) Natural adhesives,
b) Synthetic adhesives.
After the use of phenol formaldehyde in wood-based materials such as fiberboard, particleboard and plywood, its usage area has increased. However, parallel to this, the prices of these glues have increased significantly. While it has become an environmental threat in the near future, the demand for adhesives will decrease due to the high cost of users.
For this reason, vegetable glue production such as lignocellulosic is encouraged in many countries to get rid of glues. Phenol formaldehyde is a carcinogenic material. Since phenol
formaldehyde cannot be recycled, it negatively affects the environment and human health.
There are a number of breakthroughs in our country against phenol formaldehyde. Having a large amount of vegetable residues, the correct use of these residues will provide protection against both energy and environmental pollution.
While Oriente PP polymer exhibits durable and clear properties in film form, it cannot be heat-sealed. It is often used in combination with other films for heat sealing, such as a low molecular weight polyethylene (LDPE) polymer. In general, LPDE significantly improves adhesion, but LDPE polymer is petroleumbased and poses a threat to the environment.
In general, our OPP polymer is called gelatin material. If we talk about its advantages, its dust-free and haze-free features make it attractive. It is resistant to welding stresses and tearing. This feature is desirable when it comes to having a band. OPP is a soft and flexible material. It is more suitable for folding and gluing.
It is a material that can be used in all areas. It has a strong compatibility with ultraviolet printing, has a high clarity and retention. The OPP film image is shown in Figure 1.1.
Mountain gum (Chondrilla juncea) is known by different names in the Asteraceae family, such as rush skeleton grass, gum extract, devil’s grass and bare grass. The plant is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa.
In their study by Yener et al., the species identification of mountain gum plant extract, which grows in the mountain regions of Muş province and is generally known as hook gum or mountain gum, was carried out.
The antimicrobial properties of Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria were investigated using disk diffusion method.
After a 24-hour incubation, they did not display any zones around the paper discs and determined that the antimicrobial effect of Chondrilla juncea L. plant extract was low. They noticed that the plant extract of Chondrilla juncea L. smelled good. Mountain gum image is in Figure 1.2.
While mountain gum material with high adhesive activity has applications in the health sector, an antimicrobial effect can be achieved with the addition of different active substances to the natural active substance against the antimicrobial effect that is not included in mountain gum.
From this point of view, in addition to the features that should be included in a tape, features such as antimicrobial and antifungal can be gained.
By using essential oils of thyme, mint, tea tree and lavender, which are known to have the highest antimicrobial effect, the antimicrobial feature of the environmentally friendly tape will thus be gained.
From this point of view, in the study of Aslan et al. in 2021, antimicrobial studies were continued on essential oils containing 16 different natural substances.
Thyme, mint, tea tree and lavender substances showed a high effect. Substance images of thyme, mint, tea tree and lavender are shown in Figure 1.3.
In this study, OPP film was obtained from mountain gum with natural tape adhesive and extruder film production line. Tensile tests of the tape we have produced with the petroleum-based tape in the market have been carried out and its mechanical properties and performance levels have been determined.
2. Materials and Method
2.1. Used Materials
OPP polymer was obtained from a domestic company. Mountain gum, thyme, mint, tea tree and lavender were collected from the regions of our country. The cardboard bobbin was purchased upon request from the paper manufacturers around us.
2.2. OPP Film Production and Mountain Gum Resin Production, Antimicrobial Effective Tape Production
Thyme, peppermint, tea tree and lavender essential oils were added to the OPP raw material pool to provide a 24-hour mixing process. Then, tape packaging was
obtained with the help of film extruder. The essential oil-containing OPP film was cut at a length of three meters and a width of five centimeters.
The mountain gum, which is taken into the air compressor spray system, is sprayed on the OPP film containing essential oil at a certain speed, while the tape is produced by showing
adhesion to the tape surface by means of the roller. Our environmentally friendly tape production stages are shown in Figure 2.1.
3. Results and Discussion
While the petroleum-based tape gave 30 MPa among the film tapes shot at a certain speed according to ASTM standards, our natural content provided a tensile strength value of 75 MPa.
Here, while the active ingredient in OPP provides support in increasing the directiondependent strength by entering between the OPP fibers during the drawing process of the essential oils, it is understood from here that the adhesion performance of the mountain gum material is very high.
4. Conclusion
Environmentally friendly tapes with natural content were produced. The natural antimicrobial effect is imparted to the packaging. In terms of mechanical properties,
45 MPa higher tensile strength was achieved than petroleum-based products. After optimization studies, our tape will be able to appeal to many industrial applications.
References
https://bilimgenc.tubitak.gov.tr/proje/dag-sakizii-ozutunun-antimikrobiyal-ozelliginin-arastirilmasi
ASLAN, R., TAŞKIN KAFA, A. H., HASBEK, M., & ÇELİK, C. (2021). Farklı esansiyel yağların in vitro antimikrobiyal
etkinliğinin değerlendirilmesi. Türk Hijyen ve Deneysel Biyoloji Dergisi, 78(4), 525-534.
Sohn, I. B., Noh, Y. C., Choi, S. C., Ko, D. K., Lee, J., & Choi, Y. J. (2008). Femtosecond laser ablation of polypropylene
for breathable film. Applied Surface Science, 254(16), 4919-4924.
https://www.yesilodak.com/dogal-yapistiricidan-cevre-dostu-bant
Erdi Buluş
Lecturer/ Material Technologies Specialist
Istanbul Arel University
ArelPOTKAM (Polymer Technologies and Composite Application and Research Center)
Transportation Services Department Civil Aviation Cabin Services Program/ Vocational School
Gülseren Sakarya Buluş
Specialist
Istanbul Provincial Health Directorate
Bahçeşehir University/ Engineering Management Department
Graduate School of Education
