Native, unmodified Starches
Starch adhesives in corrugating — the context
~99% of corrugated board worldwide is produced with starch-based adhesives. Common starch sources include maize (corn), wheat, tapioca, rice, and potato. Most adhesive recipes follow the same structure: a pre-cooked “carrier” phase plus a secondary raw starch phase.
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The carrier (≈10–15%) sets final viscosity, gelling temperature, and suspension.
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The secondary starch contributes most of the bonding. The carrier itself has minimal bonding function.
Over time, suppliers have introduced modified starches to tune bonding, water retention, and viscosity stability. Effective as they can be, these approaches often make glue kitchens more complex—and more expensive. Many plants end up dependent on supplier-managed formulations.
Fusion™ and Caustic — Lower Gelling Temperature, Stable Viscosity
In Fusion-based formulations, the caustic (e.g., NaOH) is added to the entire water + starch phase. Because there’s no pre-cooked carrier, batch viscosity isn’t driven by gelatinized starch; the rheology is set by Fusion’s cross-linking.
What this enables
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Optimize caustic level to achieve a lower gelling temperature at the nip.
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Viscosity remains stable because Fusion—not pre-cooked starch—governs the flow behavior.
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A lower gelling point supports higher production speeds or reduced heat settings (energy savings) while maintaining bond quality.
Always handle caustic according to plant safety procedures.
Very Fast Batch Preparations
No Primary pre-cooked starch results in very fast batch preparations.
Formulations are very simple: All the water is mixed with the caustic,
then with all the starch, the borate or replacement
and at the end Fusion is dosed.
The overall preparation time is reduced with 1/3 of normal time.
Some Benefits:
Increase the glue-kitchen capacity with 30%
Less maintenance of the equipment
Less energy consumption
