The Sustainability Benefits of Engineering Adhesives
The most obvious sustainable benefit in using engineering adhesives over mechanical fastenings is that these adhesives reduce the number of tools and parts that are procured, transported, and stored. One adhesive solution can be used in place of hundreds of washers, reducing energy, resource, and fuel consumption in washer manufacturing and transporting as well as vastly decreasing storage requirements. One ASC member, Bostik, has calculated that one 50ml bottle of its anaerobic engineering adhesive will do the job of up to 800 M10 spring washers.
Applying engineering adhesives to nuts and bolts, gaskets, piping, and components performs the role of preventative maintenance and mitigates against failure, which lowers the need for new parts and also reduces downtime. MRO engineers look to avoid downtime not just for economic efficiency, but also because it can result in a number of unsustainable side effects, such as increased use of energy and resources.
Another important sustainable impact of utilizing engineering adhesives is that they reduce leaks through the increased reliability of adhesive bonding. Whether chemical, water, or gas, leaks result in wasted resources and reduced efficiency. Further, the materials used to clean spillages will often end up in landfills. In addition to sustainability benefits, workplace falls and slips are a considerable hazard in the workplace, so reducing liquid leaks is another way to further improve workplace safety.
Source: Bostik’s Born2Bond™ team