Poly%20Lactic%20Acid - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Title:
Poly%20Lactic%20Acid
Description:
Poly Lactic Acid What is PLA? PLA Poly Lactic Acid Made from Plants, not Petroleum Starch in the plant is converted by fermentation to Lactic Acid, which is ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation
Number of Views:210
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Title: Poly%20Lactic%20Acid
1
Poly Lactic Acid
2
What is PLA?
- PLA Poly Lactic Acid
- Made from Plants, not Petroleum
- Starch in the plant is converted by fermentation
to Lactic Acid, which is polymerized to make PLA - Can be made from plants containing
starches/sugars like corn, sugar beets, sugar
cane, wheat etc.
3
Who Makes It?
- NatureWorks biggest PLA producer in the world
- Owned by Cargill
- Factory in Blair, NE 300 million lbs/year
- Uses Corn Starch to make PLA
- Other PLA manufacturers in Europe and China.
4
Corn use in USA
- 45 used for livestock, poultry and fish
production - 27.5 for ethanol production
- 17.5 for exports
- 10 for human consumption like corn chips, high
fructose corn syrup, starch, sweeteners etc.
5
How Much Corn goes to make PLA?
- 2.2 lbs of corn needed for 1 lb of PLA
- Byproducts can be used for producing germ oil,
corn gluten meal, etc - US Corn Production 700 billion lbs
- US PLA Production 300 million lbs
- 0.09 of total US corn production
6
GMO vs non-GMO
- 86 of Corn Grown in USA is GMO
- Corn used to make PLA in USA is corn available 30
miles around Blair, NE
7
Environmental Benefits Green House Gases
- Manufacturing PLA uses 60 less Green House Gases
than PET or PS
8
Environmental Benefits Fossil Fuel Use
- Manufacturing PLA uses 50 less Non-Renewable
Energy (fossil fuels) than PET or PS
9
End of Life Options - Compostability
- Is fully Compostable in a Commercial Composting
Facility within 90 days - Din Certco (Europe), BPI (USA), GreenPLA (Japan)
certifications - Reduces Environmental Pollution
- Is not Home Compostable
- Is not Soil Degradable
- Is not Marine Degradable
- Does not degrade in a landfill
10
End of Life Options - Feedstock Recycling
- PLA can be recycled back to Lactic Acid, via a
chemical process called hydrolysis - Once converted to Lactic Acid, it can be remade
into PLA - Allows infinite recycling of feedstock vs. normal
down cycling of oil-based plastics
11
End of Life Options - Incineration
- Several cities use Municipal Waste Incinerators
to burn wastes. - No Toxicity when burning PLA, unlike fossil based
polymers - Heat Content (8368 Btu/lb) higher than cellulosic
materials like Newspaper (8000 Btu/lb), Wood
(7300 Btu/lb), Average MSW (5900 Btu/lb)
12
- Thank You!
Recommended
CrystalGraphics Presentations
