"Zero Formaldehyde" Soybean Rubber Flooring**

In recent years, with the improvement of economic level and environmental protection awareness, more and more people are paying attention to the health of the home living environment, and in particular, the demands on the floor are getting higher and higher. At present, products in the flooring market contain more or less harmful substances such as formaldehyde and benzene. Although most products meet national standards, they cannot always be completely separated from these harmful substances. Many floor sellers are selling products under the banner of “zero formaldehyde”. In fact, it is true that “zero formaldehyde” is extremely rare.

According to the reporter's understanding, there have been many advertisements in the market that can use soy gum instead of the original trialdehyde gum to make solid wood laminate flooring. It is said that the floor can achieve “zero formaldehyde”. What is the actual situation, soybean gum can really make solid wood flooring does not contain formaldehyde? Or is it another trick to deceive consumers? For consumers who have long been buying flooring but are afraid of "formaldehyde," they are confusing.

Detailed explanation of soybean gum is really "zero formaldehyde"?

According to the introduction of the business, soybean protein glue is a bio-based adhesive that is made from pure natural soybeans, does not contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde, and completely eliminates consumers' concerns about excessive formaldehyde in the floor. According to relevant foreign data shows that modified soybean gum, whether it is resistance to boiling water glue, or resistance to cold water bonding strength, to meet the requirements of the national standard glue adhesive strength. However, though the phenolic modification can greatly improve the water-resistant adhesive strength of the soybean-based adhesive, the phenolic product has a relatively high toxicity and should be used as much as possible.

In general, its essence is to change the molecular structure of soy protein, and then change its physical and chemical properties, to achieve the results of changes in functional properties. At present, foreign laboratories adopt the following two methods when conducting related research: First, alkali modification. Foreign experts, such as Hettiarachchy, a well-known chemistry professor, used alkali-modified soybean protein in experiments, and indeed found that the adhesive strength and water resistance have been significantly improved compared to unmodified soybean protein gum. However, sodium hydroxide (NaOH)-modified protein solutions are often unstable due to their continuous hydrolysis, and it is necessary to add formaldehyde to stabilize the denatured protein solution, so that it has a good stability. The second is phosphoric acid modification. The use of urea, ** 胍 to modify the soy protein isolate to produce wood adhesive, has a significant impact on the nature and function of the adhesive, solubility, emulsifying capacity and water holding capacity have increased, but can not be avoided To a large number of phosphorus precipitation.

Expert Opinion:

It is understood that so far, soybean-based adhesives still have poor gluing strength, poor water resistance, and low anti-microbial degradation and other shortcomings are still not well resolved. Although the performance of bean gum has been improved when it is modified, it also increases the production cost, and organic solvents such as phenol and formaldehyde used in the modification process will cause certain harm to the environment.

In addition, the range of application of soybean gum is relatively narrow. At present, it is used only for veneer bonding and cannot be used in other industries such as construction, and these cannot be solved by simple modification treatment. Secondly, from the aspect of modification, domestic research on the modification of soybean protein started late, and most studies were limited to the modification of SPI (protein purity above 90%). Although it has been confirmed through experiments that SPI has achieved a certain breakthrough in the water-resistant adhesive strength index, it is difficult to be widely used due to technical and cost reasons.

A staff member in Beijing who has long been engaged in research and development of industrial adhesives told reporters: “Soybeans are theoretically a good raw material for wood-based panels without aldehydes, but in reality, due to their own reasons, they must be added. A chemical called 'isocyanate' can improve its relative stability." It is understood that isocyanate is a highly toxic chemical substance. It is mainly inhaled through the respiratory tract. At the very least, it can cause irritation and damage to the eyes and upper respiratory tract, while it can cause skin edema, tissue necrosis, and bronchial spasm. Can also cause chemical pneumonia and pulmonary edema, and even cause ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome), but also the formation of pulmonary fibrosis.

Already, adhesives for the wood industry are almost all "triformaldehyde," urea-formaldehyde, phenolic, and melamine-formaldehyde glues. They all use formaldehyde as the main raw material, so formaldehyde has become the culprit of indoor decoration pollution. The parquet floor contains formaldehyde, which is a problem that cannot be avoided in fact. It has also become the “top of Axe” in Greek mythology.

According to the floor structure division, solid wood composite floor can be divided into two kinds, one is three-layer solid wood composite floor, this type of floor is like a sandwich biscuit, which is composed of three layers of panels, base material and floor board; Plywood is a solid wood composite flooring, usually composed of 6-9 layers of sheet, also called "multi-layer solid wood composite floor." Both types of engineered flooring floorings are glued using glue, which is the main source of formaldehyde in the floor.

While soybean gum is derived from natural soybeans, it still contains formaldehyde. The production of solid wood flooring must use glue. This has also become an endless loop, regardless of how the business to justify, wear a variety of hats to formaldehyde, but it is only a dilemma for business promotion.

The consumer Mr. Wang’s reporter said: “I prefer solid wood floors. After all, it is purely natural and relatively safe. Also, the foot feeling is good.” Mr. Wang is a secondary decoration, and his parents used solid wood flooring in the renovation. He also chose this product when he was decorating his new home. Xu **, who is preparing for a new house, originally planned to purchase solid wood flooring, but after consulting relevant information and asking friends, he gave up the original purchase plan: “Solid wood flooring is cheaper, but quality problems can't be solved. careless."

According to relevant data, in recent years, the proportion of sales of solid wood laminate flooring and laminate flooring has been significantly affected. An expert from the Forest Products Industry Association said: “The material of engineered wood flooring is mostly fast-growing forests. The use of solid wood flooring for natural forests will be more durable and hard to use. Now that consumers’ environmental awareness is getting higher, so according to the Center’s data, It is not surprising that the sales of parquet fell."

Experts said that the problem of formaldehyde has become a major problem for solid wood laminate flooring. As a company, it is understandable to pursue interests. However, while chasing benefits, it also needs to really bring value to consumers. As consumers, they must also polish themselves. The eyes, rational purchase floor.