Polyethylene Wax Improves Hot Melt Adhesives – Why It Matters

Trecora polyethylene wax products are among our best sellers. They are utilized for a variety of applications, including improving hot melt adhesive performance. When a polyethylene wax is added to a hot melt adhesive, you wind up with a better adhesive suitable for more applications.

If you are interested in learning more about our polyethylene wax, don't hesitate to contact us. In the meantime, let's discuss why adding it to a hot melt adhesive matters.

Hot Melt Adhesive Basics

Hot melt adhesives are thermoplastic adhesives considered quite versatile. They offer manufactures several key advantages that apply to both industrial and commercial applications. Those advantages include:

• Fast setting time and quick bonding.
• Bonding to a wide range of materials (paper, plastic, etc.).
• Solvent free formulations.
• Long shelf life.
• Easy disposal.

Hot melt adhesives are applied through extrusion, spraying, or rolling. Once applied, they bond and cool. The adhesives can be applied to either hot or cold surfaces, fully bonding in anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes.

A Variety of Applications and Formats

Hot melt adhesives are an excellent choice for a variety of industrial and commercial applications. They are available in a wide variety of formats including blocks, sticks, and granules. And because they can be customized for specific needs, manufacturers can order different adhesives for different applications. They do not have to go with a one-size-fits-all product.

The Most Common Applications

Common applications for hot melt adhesives are wide ranging. We see them all the time in food packaging. But any product can be packaged in a carton, box, or plastic container and sealed with a hot melt adhesive.

Other applications include:

• Furniture manufacturing and woodworking.
• Construction (flooring, windows, tiling).
• Product assembly (automotive and electronics).
• Book binding, labeling, and envelope sealing.

Industrial settings often require specific formulations tailored to unique needs. One manufacturer might need a food safe adhesive while another needs an adhesive that resists high temperatures. The beauty of a hot melt adhesive is that it is very customizable.

How Polyethylene Wax Makes It Better

We began this post by declaring that polyethylene wax improves hot melt adhesives. But how, exactly? For starters, polyethylene wax is essentially a rheology modifier. It reduces viscosity, creates more uniform adhesion, and reduces adhesive stringing during application. In addition, polyethylene wax:

• Improves Thermal Stability – By improving thermal stability, polyethylene wax also reduces degradation and increases adhesive longevity. The risk of bond failure under high heat is reduced as well.
• Enhances Performance – Adding polyethylene wax to hot melt adhesives improves their performance by increasing bond strength and durability, reducing brittleness, enhancing flexibility, and increasing resistance to a variety of environmental influences.
• Improves Processing – Polyethylene wax is an additive with known processing advantages. It lubricates and improves extrusion efficiency. It reduces surface irregularities when applied via spraying. Polyethylene wax can even help prevent melt rupture.

Combine all this together and you have a better hot melt adhesive regardless of the planned application. It makes for better manufacturing processes and happier customers.

There is a lot more we could say about hot melt adhesives and their benefits in manufacturing an industry. Suffice it to say they offer an excellent combination of speed, versatility, and performance.

Here at Trecora, we are improving hot melt adhesives with our own specialty waxes. We have learned how to create a polyethylene wax that makes an excellent additive to hot melt adhesives. It is just one of our many success stories as a petrochemical processor and manufacturer of high-purity specialty chemicals. Interested in learning more about what we do? Contact us any time.