Product Design and Processing: Adhesive Technology

An overview of the state of the art in adhesive technology and the different kinds of adhesives, their components, and their preferred applications including industrial production processes is given. The components of the adhesive systems are regarded in view of their potential risks for the environment and human health. Legal regulations concerning the handling and the processing of adhesives with respect to their hazardous components complete the mainly technical viewpoint of the paper. Future developments are discussed in an outlook including natural products based adhesives and the improvement of the compatibility of existing adhesives as well as their industrial applications with the environment.