Cristina Vergani
Technical Manager Adhesives & Sealants, IMCD Group
Cristina Vergani is the Technical Manager Adhesives & Sealants, based at the IMCD Adhesives laboratory in Milan, Italy. In her role, Cristina conducts thorough testing of a wide range of adhesive technologies across diverse applications. Her proficiency is centred around assessing adhesive applications and creating new formulations. Cristina Vergani joined IMCD in 2023, and before that, she accrued valuable experience while working with Henkel. During this time, her focus was on packaging adhesives, encompassing paper and plastic packaging, as well as pressure-sensitive applications like tapes, labels, and solutions for medical use.
Sustainable Solutions for Hotmelt Adhesives
While hot-melt adhesives are 100% solids, VOC-free, fast bonding formation, and efficient to transport, many rely on fossil-based materials to deliver the required performance. As demand grows for circular, fossil-free solutions in high-volume areas like paper packaging and wood products, developing bio-based hot-melt formulations is becoming a key focus.
This study explores the formulation of hot-melt adhesives utilising sustainable polymers, resins, waxes, oils, and plasticisers. It focuses on combining partially and fully bio-based raw materials in the formulation without compromising adhesion, processing behaviour, or thermal stability.
We implemented several formulation strategies, including the integration of bio-based resins and waxes into conventional polymer systems, achieving up to 60% bio-based content. One main aspect was to evaluate bio-based polymers, such as polybutylene succinate (PBS), for their compatibility and performance for potentially 100% bio-based systems. Key findings show strong adhesion on different substrates, as well as the demonstration of favourable storage and heat resistance properties.
These findings demonstrate the potential of bio-based components to deliver effective hot-melt adhesive systems while supporting the transition toward more sustainable solutions for packaging applications.
Breakout Session XVI – Sustainable & High-Performance Hotmelt Solutions – 18 September 2026 – 11:30 – 12:00 – Room Mountbatten – F6