Blood glues are preferably made from soluble dried beef blood, a byproduct of meat packaging operation. Blood glues are used to manufacture plywood and other wood products. They have also been used in food packaging, as the bonds are odorless, nontoxic, and tasteless. A typical use was the bonding of cork disks in metal bottle caps.
Blood glues are of little commercial importance in most countries, but they are still used in certain regions for the manufacture of interior grade plywood. High-speed assembly operations can generally be achieved by heating the glue to a temperature of approximately 80°C.
RESULTING PROPERTIES
A typical animal blood composition is listed above for the hot or cold pressing of plywood. It is based on soluble blood using hot water to coagulate the protein into a granular, high water content plywood adhesive.
Blood glues have good adhesion to paper, textiles, leather, cork, and metals. Blood glue has fair thermal resistance when set with heat. These glues have quite good water resistance but are highly susceptible to mold growth and attack by bacteria under damp conditions.
