Cartons from corrugated board are most often sealed with liquid glues or hot-melt adhesives. However, dextrin adhesives are still used as a result of their low cost and ready availability. Adhesives for sealing cartons must have low and stable viscosity, be able to form strong bonds, and set up quickly. If staining of the carton is not a concern, sodium hydroxide may be added to increase adhesion. A formulation for a white dextrin adhesive is given in Table 5.
Table 4 Typical Formulation for a Laminating Adhesive
|
Table 5 Formulation of Adhesive for Sealing Cartons |
|
Component or process |
Amount (part) |
Water |
110 |
White dextrin |
80 |
Preservative |
2 |
Borax |
12 |
Antifoam agent |
0.125 |
Cook at 85° C for 20 min |
— |
Cool to 50°C |
— |
Water |
10 |
50% NaOH |
0.12 |
Source: Ref. 14, Chap. 26, p. 4. |
Adhesive and component or process |
Amount (part) |
Envelope adhesive |
|
Yellow dextrin (95% soluble) |
65.7 |
Water |
32.9 |
Tributyl phosphate |
0.2 |
Heat to 88°C for 30 min |
— |
Cool to 60°C |
— |
Corn syrup |
1.1 |
Gummed tape adhesive |
|
Water |
50 |
Waxy starch (acid-modified) |
44 |
Urea |
6 |
Source: Refs. 15 and 16. |