Preparation and evaluation of catfish protein as a wood adhesive

Authors: Cheng, Huai; He, Zhongqi; Li, Carissa; Bland, John; Bechtel, Peter

Submitted to: International Journal of Polymer Analysis and Characterization
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2020
Publication Date: 1/2/2021
Citation: Cheng, H.N., He, Z., Li, C.H., Bland, J.M., Bechtel, P.J. 2021. Preparation and evaluation of catfish protein as a wood adhesive. International Journal of Polymer Analysis and Characterization. 26(1):60-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/1023666X.2020.1844361.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1023666X.2020.1844361

Interpretive Summary: Catfish represented a 161-million-pound aquaculture industry in 2013, primarily in the southern United States. Fish skin is a byproduct of the catfish industry, and it would be useful to find more applications for it. The goal of this work is to check the feasibility of using the protein from catfish skin in wood adhesives. Our data showed that both the dry adhesive strength and the hot water resistance of the catfish protein are comparable to those of cottonseed protein isolate. A formulation was also developed involving a 1:1 mixture of catfish protein and cottonseed protein isolate that showed improved hot water resistance. Thus, catfish protein can be a viable ingredient for the formulation of biobased and eco-friendly wood adhesives. Because the adhesive use of the catfish skin protein and cottonseed protein can increase the economic value of the proteins, the results of this study should be of interest to both catfish industry and cottonseed producers.

Technical Abstract: In order to decrease the usage of formaldehyde and petroleum-derived raw materials, there has been a lot of interest in using protein-based wood adhesives as more eco-friendly and less hazardous alternatives. Fish proteins can be extracted from fish and are known to have good adhesive properties. In this work, we extracted the protein (mostly gelatin) from catfish skin and studied its effectiveness as a wood adhesive. This protein from catfish skin (a byproduct of catfish processing) performed well as an adhesive, with similar (or slightly better) dry adhesive strength relative to cottonseed protein isolate. The blend of catfish protein and cottonseed protein displayed about the same dry adhesive strength when compared catfish protein alone. The hot water resistance of catfish protein and cottonseed protein was comparable, but the 1:1 blend exhibited better performance than the two proteins by themselves. These results suggest that the protein from catfish skin may be a promising material for wood adhesive applications.