Synthesis, Modification and Application of Polylactic Acid

Abstract

Due to the increasing shortage of environmental resources, the idea of sustainable development increases the attention to the biodegradable substances. Polylactic acid (PLA) possesses outstanding mechanical and processing properties, and its products can be rapidly degraded in various ways after use. The synthesis and use of PLA have received more and more attention. Lactide, the intermediate to synthesize PLA, is challenging to produce and purify. As a result, the application cost of PLA is high, and it is hard to employ on a wide scale. Carbon dioxide (CO2) can be used for the synthesis and modification of PLA through a cell factory. It offers a wide range of potential applications and can successfully address the lactide production and purification issue. Additionally, we talked about the significance of supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-CO2) in the creation of PLA products and the viability of producing PLA directly utilizing sc-CO2 as a medium. Furthermore, we discussed how sc-CO2 affects the properties of PLA as well as the application of PLA products.