With India’s adhesives market, worth USD 2.1 billion in 2024 and expected to witness a 6.5% CAGR until 2030, under increasing pressure to become more environment-friendly, bio-based adhesives are gaining strength as a viable replacement for petrochemical grades.
Spurred by tough environmental regulations, consumer pressure for sustainable products, and dwindling fossil reserves, makers are experimenting with renewable raw materials such as soy, starch, lignin, and casein.
Although these bio-based alternatives provide environmentally friendly advantages, their performance levels equaling those of conventional adhesives remains a make-or-break issue, with improved developments exhibiting both promise and constraint.
Environmental regulations are transforming the adhesives scenario. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and international standards such as REACH have increased regulation on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde emissions, traditionally tied to urea-formaldehyde and phenol-formaldehyde resins in the construction, automotive, and packaging industries.
A 2024 report by CII observed that 60% of Indian producers experience compliance issues with these rules, which is driving investment in cleaner substitutes.
Consumer demand for sustainable products, especially among urban customers, has added further drive, with 45% of Indian consumers placing higher value on the use of green materials, according to a 2023 Nielsen survey.
This is in keeping with India’s National Green Mission, which encourages low-VOC and biodegradable options.
Bio-based adhesives, being derived from renewable raw materials, carry important environmental advantages such as biodegradability, low toxicity, and less dependence on non-renewable petrochemicals.
Soy adhesives, for example, have become popular in India’s plywood market that uses 30% of the country’s adhesives.
Studies by the American United Soybean Board also point to soy protein adhesives, such as those owned by Solenis and licensed as Soyad, attaining no-added-formaldehyde (NAF) certification and joining more than 150 million hardwood plywood panels worldwide.
In India, such firms as Pidilite are developing soy-based adhesives for furniture, enhancing wet shear strength to 6.4 MPa from 4.7 MPa when blended with urea-formaldehyde resins, according to a 2019 study. Soy adhesives tend to, however, lack water resistance, which constrains their utilization in humid environments such as India’s monsoon seasons.
Adhesives based on starch, long utilized in applications such as stamp adhesives, are now being re-engineered for contemporary requirements.
Additions like silane coupling agents and olefin monomers have enhanced starch’s water resistance and shear strength to make it suitable for corrugated packaging, an industry that is expanding at 8% every year in India, according to a 2024 FICCI report.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has been advocating starch-based adhesives for small industries because of their low price and availability from wheat and corn byproducts.
However, starch adhesives are usually less durable than petrochemical alternatives and need to be modified to contend.
India’s pulp and paper industry, which itself produces 20 million tons every year, offers lignin as a promising raw material.
Kalami et al. have shown through research that corn stover lignin can completely replace phenol as an adhesive in plywood without degrading lap shear performance.
Experiments in India with kraft lignin in Gujarat’s plywood clusters indicated equivalent dry strength to that of phenol-formaldehyde resins, with a 2024 study that found internal bond strength of 255 kPa in lignin-based adhesives.
Lignin is appealing due to its low price and resistance to price volatility in oil, but its highly branched structure and poor reactivity typically require chemical modification, which raises production costs
Casein from milk byproducts has a traditional stronghold in India’s woodworking adhesives market. Recent developments, such as those developed by Specialty Organics using casein-based products, improve water resistance through phosphorus-modified protein cross-linking with marine-type adhesive characteristics.
The adhesives are applied in Rajasthan’s small-scale furniture modules, providing biodegradable and low VOC emission properties. But casein’s dependence on animal sources has sustainability drawbacks because of high energy and water requirements, making it less green than plant-based options.
Innovations have narrowed the performance gap recently.
Nanotechnology in the form of reinforcement with nanocellulose increases adhesive strength and water resistance in soy and starch systems, with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) boosting shear strength by 15% in plywood, according to a 2021 study. Cross-linking agents such as glyoxal and tannic acid remove formaldehyde emissions in soy adhesives and lignin, as reported by Rhazi et al., who prepared formaldehyde-free plywood adhesives with glyoxalated lignosulfonates.
Vegetable oil-based polyurethane adhesives, especially from soybean and castor oils, provide thermal stability and flame retardancy similar to petrochemical adhesives, used in India’s construction and automobile sectors increasing at 7% per year.
Despite advancements, challenges remain. Bio-based adhesives are 20-30% pricier than their petrochemical equivalents, a major hurdle for MSMEs, which produce 40% of India’s adhesives, according to a 2024 SIDBI report.
Fewer than 12% of MSMEs have implemented bio-based adhesives in Tier 2 and rural markets because of cost factors and lack of awareness. Skill gaps, with only 5% of the workforce trained in bio-based adhesive technologies, according to Nasscom, stifle innovation.
Infrastructure-related problems, such as irregular power supply in Uttar Pradesh, halt production, costing SMEs Rs. 1-2 lakh per month. Regulatory slowdown, with patents taking 4-6 years compared to China’s 2 years, slows commercialization.
Government support is aiding the transition. The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme incentivizes R&D in sustainable materials, while the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) scheme supports technology adoption.
The Skill India Digital Hub has trained 2 million workers in advanced manufacturing, with plans to include bio-adhesive modules by 2026.
However, scaling adoption requires subsidies for bio-based raw materials, streamlined regulations, and awareness campaigns to educate consumers in smaller cities.
India’s adhesives market is at a turning point, juggling sustainability and performance. Bio-based adhesives from soy, starch, lignin, and casein hold potential, with technology bridging the gap with petrochemical technology.
However, cost-effectiveness, scalability, and performance under extreme conditions continue to be challenges. With India setting its sights on a USD 3 billion adhesives market by 2030, investment in R&D, human skills, and infrastructure will decide if bio-based adhesives will be able to match—and outdo—conventional formulations, creating a greener industrial future.