For the adhesives and sealants sector, WACKER will premiere its VINNAPAS EAF 68, an aqueous dispersion based on the monomers vinyl acetate, ethylene and acrylate. There were two fundamental reasons for this new development. On one hand, the market is looking increasingly for flooring adhesives with a minimum of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). On the other, the use of alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEO) in the manufacture of adhesives is increasingly being restricted.

The challenge was to eliminate APEO-containing substances while matching or even exceeding the quality and performance characteristics of existing binders ? such as VINNAPAS EAF 60, which has been a standard in dispersions for flooring adhesives for 30 years.

WACKER’s solution was to develop VINNAPAS EAF 68. This new dispersion features excellent technical properties, such as high cohesion, good heat resistance, and excellent transfer to various floor-covering backings. At the same time, it improves the dimensional stability of bonded flexible floor coverings. The new dispersion also exhibits good adhesion to various substrates, a good open time and an excellent price/performance ratio compared to alternative technologies, such as acrylates.

The new dispersion VINNAPAS EAF 68 thus makes an ideal all-round product for floor coverings, ranging from those that are difficult to bond, such as linoleum and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) right through to easy-to-lay carpeting. Due to its fine balance of adhesion and cohesion, the product also acts as an adhesion promoter, so that it can be added to VINNAPAS VAE-based adhesives for paper and packaging applications.

The future belongs to adhesives offering the combination of strength and elasticity needed for a broad range of challenging applications. WACKER has developed its innovative GENIOSIL STP-E technology especially for this class of adhesives. They are based on alpha-silanes that exhibit extremely high reactivity. This can be exploited to produce completely novel, fast-curing, one-component adhesives and sealants. The effect even permits the formulation of tin-free systems ? representing a technological leap in user safety. Adhesives formulated with GENIOSIL STP-E possess outstanding mechanical properties. They do not require labeling, formulations being free of plasticizers and solvents. GENIOSIL STP-E is used in numerous sophisticated adhesive formulations, e.g. in the automotive sector, in container construction and for bonding parquet floors.

WACKER also uses GENIOSIL STP-E prepolymers for the formulation of a new range of adhesives and sealants called GENIOSIL N. The product line includes a large selection of ready-formulated products. These range from highly elastic sealants (GENIOSIL N25 and GENIOSIL N35) to the mirror adhesive GENIOSIL N45, to the high-strength, plasticizer-free adhesive GENIOSIL N70. WACKER’s crystal-clear sealant GENIOSIL N35C is indispensible for interior applications such as furniture and cabinet construction, especially when the adhesive joint shouldn’t be visible.

WACKER has developed VINNAPAS EP 441 specifically for the needs of the paper and packaging industry. The vinyl acetate/ethylene-based dispersion is a versatile binder featuring a good balance between adhesion and cohesion, good cleanability, high setting speed and good machine processability. The dispersion’s major strength, however, is its excellent suitability for nozzle application. At the same time, it shows good machine running properties for roller application. VINNAPAS EP 441 thus speeds up production processes, increasing paper-processing productivity and reducing daily operating expenses.

VINNAPAS XD 05 is a VAE copolymer dispersion developed specifically for the needs of the paper and packaging industry. The product is a cost-competitive and also sustainable alternative to existing packaging adhesives based on polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). Its VAE basis enables adhesives to be formulated with a significantly reduced amount of supplementary additives, such as plasticizers. The product also sets fast and is well suited to machine processing. VINNAPAS XD 05 is thus ideal for formulating packaging adhesives which have an extremely low migration potential and are therefore especially suitable for food applications.

With its VINNAPAS DPX product line, WACKER has developed a technology for wood glues that are highly water-resistant. The patented VINNAPAS DPX 271 dispersion features D3 water resistance yet requires no reactive co-monomer. In consequence, sensitive woods do not discolor. The dispersion tolerates the addition of large quantities of filler, such as calcium carbonate, without impairment of its water resistance. It also boasts enhanced heat resistance and is highly cost-effective. Since it requires no reactive co-monomers or external crosslinkers and has a low formaldehyde content (below 5 ppm) VINNAPAS DPX 271 also meets the latest environmental and safety standards and is thus in keeping with WACKER’s commitment to the Responsible Care initiative.

HDK pyrogenic silica from WACKER has the important task of controlling the rheology during the manufacture of adhesives and sealants. The thixotropic effect of HDK makes systems stable during storage and application, and easy to handle. HDK confers stable viscosities on end products as well as high sag resistance and prevents separation effects and the settling out of fillers. These qualities make pyrogenic silica from WACKER a useful component, for example, in the production of modern wind turbines: HDK is added to control the rheology of the widely employed epoxy or vinyl-ester adhesives. All in all, WACKER offers a versatile, application-specific product portfolio of hydro