Green Adhesives Using Tannin and Cashew Nut Shell Liquid for Environment-friendly Furniture Materials

Sick building syndrome symptoms that are experienced by building occupants may be caused by toxic substances such as formaldehyde and VOCs, which are known to be emitted from building materials and wood composite products such as wood-based panel, furniture, engineered flooring and construction adhesive. In Korea, the use of wood composite products for indoor environments has increased over the last decade. Recently, wood composite products have been installed in approximately 95% of newly constructed residential buildings. The use of these products has resulted in problems related to human health, and consequently a realization about the importance of indoor air quality. In addition, consumer demand is increasing for natural materials because conventional building materials and wood composite products are made by adding urea-formaldehyde resin or they contain formaldehyde-based resin. More recently, many efforts have been made to reduce formaldehyde emission from building materials that laid in the indoor environment. Especially, if conventional formaldehyde-based adhesives are replaced with green adhesives for residential spaces, it is possible to reduce most of the emission amounts of formaldehyde in indoor environments. In line with this expectation, many researches are being conducted using natural materials such as tannin and cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). This study discussed the affects and possibilities of green adhesives to reduce formaldehyde emission in indoor environments.