Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The present manuscript presents experimental results on the incorporation of unmodified vegetable oils and waste oils into polyurethane adhesives for parquet flooring. The work is well-structured, the characterizations are carried out according to standards (ISO 17178, EN 12457-4, etc.), and the data are clearly presented. However, the manuscript remains essentially applied and descriptive, with a focus on compliance with technical and environmental standards. It lacks a genuine scientific study, with analysis of the relationships between the chemical structure of the oils, their reactivity, and their influence on the mechanical or physicochemical properties of the resulting polyurethanes. Hence, the scientific contribution for a journal such as Molecules appears limited.

The major limitations concern :

1. the lack of structure–property analysis. The oils are used without in-depth characterization of their composition (hydroxyl value, degree of unsaturation, fatty acid distribution, etc.). There is no correlation between the chemical nature of the oils (reactive vs. non-reactive) and the observed performance.

2. Lack of scientific discussion. The influence of the oils in the PU network is not studied. The manuscript does not propose reactional or structural hypotheses to explain the observed differences.

3. Limited novelty. Indeed, The use of such oils in PUs has already been described in the literature, and the contribution here remains limited to an experimental comparison of performance in this particular application.

Author Response

The answers to Rewiers's comments are in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

In this manuscript，when reactive (castor) and non-reactive (rapeseed, sunflower, linseed, and used cooking) oils, each at a dosage of 10 wt%, incorporated into an in house two-component polyurethane (PU) parquet adhesive respectively. the authors evaluated mechanical properties according to EN ISO 17178, inorganic leaching according to EN 12457‑4, and volatile organics by headspace GC–MS. It is found that The sunflower‑oil variant showed the highest shear strength, whereas rapeseed and castor oils provided stable tensile performance.

1. Addition molecular structures of reactive (castor) and non-reactive (rapeseed, sunflower, linseed, and used cooking) oils;
2. If possible, please discuss the influence of the molecular structure characteristics on the performance of PU;
3. If possible, please discuss the impact of moisture content of reactive (castor) and non-reactive (rapeseed, sunflower, linseed, and used cooking) oils on the performance of the PU;
4. If possible, please discuss the influence of viscosity of reactive (castor) and non-reactive (rapeseed, sunflower, linseed, and used cooking) oils on the bonding performance of PU (polyurethane);
5. If there were data on fluid mechanics, the results would be better and more instructive.

Author Response

The answers to Rewiers's comments are in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Polyurethane (PU) adhesives are widely used in the construction industry due to their excellent bonding performance, multifunctionality, and ease of application. This study investigates the feasibility of partially substituting traditional polyurethane production materials—primarily petrochemicals—with eco-friendly vegetable oils for manufacturing polyurethane floor adhesives. Given the increasing emphasis on environmental protection, such research holds significant practical value. The paper systematically investigates the production of polyurethane floor adhesives using five types of biomass oils, strictly adhering to relevant product quality standards and environmental requirements, providing substantial data. These findings offer valuable insights for developing environmentally sustainable polyurethane floor adhesives. The study demonstrates strong potential for publication in this journal through its well-structured background, problem analysis, methodology, and results. In my opinion, this paper is recommended for publication. To enhance the research paper, the following suggestions are proposed:

1. As a chemistry journal, it is recommended that authors provide five molecular structures of vegetable oils at the level of chemical reactions to better understand the results obtained.
2. It is suggested to add the comparison between the test results and the results reported in the literature in the discussion section.

Author Response

The answers to Rewiers's comments are in the attached file.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The authors have improved their manuscript following comments. Manuscript is now suitable to publication.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The author has made basic additions and revisions to the manuscript as per the reviewers' suggestions, and the manuscript can now be published.