Why choose PLA bio-friendly material?

PLA is a new polyester material produced with organic acid lactic acid as raw material. Compared with existing plastic materials such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc., PLA has superior performance. Therefore, PLA is widely regarded as one of the most promising new packaging materials in the new century and a star of environmentally friendly packaging materials. In the future, PLA is expected to replace polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and other materials and become one of the main materials for plastic products. Its application prospects are very broad.

Polylactic acid is a biodegradable polymer material with the following advantages: 1. Environmental protection: Polylactic acid can be decomposed by microorganisms and will not pollute the environment. 2. Degradable: Polylactic acid can be decomposed in the natural environment and will not exist in the environment for a long time like plastic. 3. Safety: Polylactic acid is a natural product, does not contain toxic substances, and is harmless to the human body. 4. Good plasticity: Polylactic acid can be processed and molded into products of various shapes, such as tableware, packaging materials, etc. 5. High transparency: Products made of polylactic acid have high transparency and can be used to make transparent cups, plates, etc. In short, polylactic acid is a biodegradable material with broad application prospects, with good environmental protection, degradability, safety and plasticity.

(2) Polylactic acid is very biodegradable. After using polylactic acid products, they can be completely degraded by microorganisms in nature and eventually decomposed into carbon dioxide and water. It will not cause pollution to the environment, so it is very beneficial to environmental protection.

Polylactic acid has excellent mechanical and physical properties, and is suitable for various processing methods, such as blow molding, thermoplastics, etc. It is easy to process and has a wide range of applications. It can be used to process various plastic products, from industrial to civilian, such as packaged food, fast food lunch boxes, non-woven fabrics, industrial and civilian fabrics. In addition, it can also be processed into agricultural fabrics, health fabrics, rags, sanitary products, outdoor UV protection fabrics, tent fabrics, floor mats, etc., and the market prospects are very broad.

(3) It has good compatibility and biodegradability. Polycaprolactone is also widely used in the medical field. For example, it can be used to produce disposable medical devices, detachable surgical sutures, etc. At the same time, low molecular weight polycaprolactone can also be used as a drug sustained-release packaging agent.

The production of polylactic acid usually uses lactic acid as raw material. Traditional lactic acid fermentation usually uses starch raw materials, but now some countries such as the United States, France and Japan have begun to use agricultural and sideline products to ferment lactic acid and then produce polylactic acid.

In the United States, LLC uses corn starch as raw material, hydrolyzes it to produce glucose, then uses lactobacillus for anaerobic fermentation, neutralizes it with liquid alkali to produce lactic acid, and after purification and electrodialysis, produces L-lactic acid with a purity of 99.5%. This lactic acid can be used to produce PLA. There are two production processes: direct polycondensation and non-solvent method. The direct polycondensation method uses a solvent to dehydrate and polycondense under vacuum, while the non-solvent method is to make lactic acid generate cyclic dimer lactide, and then polycondense it into PLA through ring opening.

An American research institute has successfully developed a new type of environmentally friendly packaging material. The material is made by converting discarded potatoes into glucose syrup after a series of treatments, and then using bacteria to ferment it into lactic acid fermentation liquid. Through electrodialysis separation and heating to evaporate water, polylactic acid that can be made into film and coating is finally obtained. This new material can be used to make fresh-keeping bags, replacing traditional polyethylene and waterproof wax packaging materials, and has good environmental performance.

A university has collaborated with the French Elstein Sugar Factory to develop a new method for producing polylactic acid. This method uses sugar beets as raw materials, first breaking them down into monosaccharides, then producing lactic acid through fermentation, and finally polymerizing lactic acid into polylactic acid through chemical methods. In addition, this method can also use the waste sugar liquid from the industrial sugar production process to produce polylactic acid, thereby significantly reducing production costs.

Japan's Kanebo Company uses corn as raw material to produce polylactic acid through fermentation and make it into biodegradable foaming material. In this process, they used a special additive to control the molecular structure of polylactic acid, turning it into particles that are easy to foam. Then, they added an organic compound foaming agent made of carbohydrates and molded it in a molding machine. Finally, it was heated by high-pressure steam to make a foaming material. The strength, compressive stress, cushioning and drug resistance of this material are comparable to those of polystyrene plastics. At the same time, the material will not cause pollution to the environment after incineration and can also be used to fertilize fields.