The majority of starch-derived adhesives are used in the paper and textile industries as binders and sizing materials. However, the discussion in this chapter is limited to glues and pastes, since paper and textile uses have been covered thoroughly elsewhere [12]. This section provides an overview of severa1 gluing applications, with specia1 attention to the properties required of the glue in each case.
1. Corrugating Adhesives
Corrugated board is produced by the adhesion of a fluted layer of paper to a flat layer. A two-phase starch adhesive is commonly used to join the two layers. The liquid phase, a gelled mixture of starch and sodium hydroxide in water, is called the carrier. The solid phase of ungelled starch and borax is suspended in the carrier phase. The mixture is applied to a warm fluted sheet, which is then placed into contact with a hot flat sheet. The ungelled starch gels from the heat of the sheets. Table 2 shows a recipe for a typical corrugating adhesive [13].