Abstract
Polyvinyl acetate emulsion has been widely used as adhesives for wood and paper, paint additives and binders for fiber, leather, and other materials because it is an excellent adhesive with many advantages including low in toxicity risks and manufacturing cost. It is expected the consumption of polyvinyl acetate emulsion as adhesives will increase in cigarette industry as well as in paperboard coating industry. Recently the operation speed of the cigarette tip wrapper increased so substantially that improvement of the emulsion properties is required including good wet tack development, narrow and controlled particle size distribution, low viscosity, etc. In this study the effects of such polymerization conditions as the type and amount of emulsifier, internal or external plasticizing, and emulsification methods on the viscosity and particle size of polyvinyl acetate emulsions were examined. Results showed that polyvinyl alcohol with a high degree of hydrolysis and low molecular weight and nonionic surfactants are superior to anionic surfactant in improving adhesion and emulsion stability. They also tend to produce emulsions with smaller particle size. External plasticization with dipropylene glycol dibenzoate was more effective in improving flexibility than internal plasticization with butyl acrylate. Monomer emulsification under high shear was more effective in decreasing the particle size.