Novel Facile Technique for the Determination of Binding Strength of Adhesives

Abstract

Second to the wide application of different types of adhesives in various industries, offices, and homes and to the paucity of raw materials for the production of adhesives, as well as constraints in access to the conventional instruments for determination of binding strength, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries, there is a need to source and produce adhesives locally from readily available and inexpensive raw materials and to develop simple and reliable techniques to determine the binding strength. In this work, adhesives were produced from pumpkin and watermelon seeds. The binding strength of the adhesives was successfully tested using a simple technique involving a retort stand and standard objects of known mass. The adhesives were of good quality and easily applied, especially on paper, foam, footwear, and wood works. This novel technique provides a very easy and inexpensive route for the determination of binding strength as it does not require electric power, advanced technical skills, or other chemicals.