Potential of Recycled Polystyrene and Xylene Liquid for A Wood Glue: A Comparative Study

Abstract

In formulating a wood glue, stronger binding of the wooden structure is challenged since the active ingredient in a strong glue can be harmful to humans and is not environmentally friendly. To reduce the toxicity level from xylene, this paper studies the use of polystyrene in xylene liquid for wood surface glue. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effectiveness of our proposed glue with the conventional glues on the market. The mixture for the proposed glue includes 200 g solid polystyrene waste dissolved in 500 ml of xylene liquid. The strength of the glue on the wood surface was evaluated by taking 36 plywood samples with three different groups of storage times. The time taken before adhesion failures occur recorded for each increment of loads at each sample test. The outcome indicated that the proposed glue could withstand the adhesion failure at 400 g load at maximum and, for this case, applicable for 1 hour storage time. The reliability of the proposed glue was determined based on comparative results from 3 different conventional wood types of glue on the market with the same setup.