Polylactic acid, also known as polylactide, belongs to the polyester family. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a polymer obtained by polymerization of lactic acid as the main raw material. The raw material source is sufficient and can be recycled. The production process of PLA is pollution-free, and the product can be biodegraded to realize the cycle in nature, so it is an ideal green polymer material. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a new kind of biodegradable material. The starch extracted from renewable plant resources (such as maize) is used to produce lactic acid through fermentation process, and then converted into PLA through polymer synthesis.

Advantages of polylactic acid (PLA) :

1. Polylactic acid has excellent biodegradability. It can be 100% and completely degraded by microorganisms in the soil within one year after abandonment to produce carbon dioxide and water without polluting the environment. Truly "from nature, to nature"!

World's carbon dioxide emissions in 2030, according to news reports in global temperature will rise to 60 ℃, common plastic processing methods is still burning cremation, caused a large number of greenhouse gases into the air, and is buried in the soil degradation of poly (lactic acid) (PLA), the carbon dioxide directly into the soil organic matter or is absorbed by plants, not into the air, won't cause the greenhouse effect.

2, polylactic acid is suitable for blow molding, injection molding and other processing methods, convenient processing, widely used. It can be used for processing all kinds of food containers, packaged food, fast food boxes, non-woven fabrics, industrial and civil fabrics from industry to civil. And then processed into agricultural fabric, health fabric, cloth, sanitary products, outdoor UV fabric, tent cloth, mat surface and so on, the market prospects are very good. It can be seen that its mechanical and physical properties are good

3. The basic physical properties of polylactic acid (PLA) and petrochemical synthetic plastics are similar, that is, it can be used to manufacture a wide range of applications. Polylactic acid also has a good gloss and transparency, comparable to films made from polystyrene, that other biodegradable products do not provide

4, good compatibility and degradability. Polylactic acid (PLA) is also widely used in the field of medicine, such as the production of disposable transfusion appliances, non-removable surgical sutures, and low-molecular-weight PLA as drug sustained-release packaging agent.

5, polylactic acid (PLA) has the good tensile strength and the degree of stretch, polylactic acid also can produce all kinds of ordinary processing methods, such as: melt extrusion molding, injection molding, film forming, foaming molding and vacuum forming, with the current widely used polymer have similar forming condition, furthermore it also has the same as the traditional film printing performance. In this way, POLylactic acid can be made into a wide variety of applications according to the needs of different industries.

6. When polylactic acid (PLA) is incinerated, its calorific value of combustion is the same as that of incinerated paper, which is half of that of traditional plastic (such as polyethylene), and the incineration of PLA will definitely not release nitrogen, sulfide and other toxic gases. The human body also contains lactic acid in monomeric form, which indicates the safety of this decomposing product.

7, polylactic acid (PLA) film has good air permeability, oxygen permeability and dioxygen dicarbon permeability, it also has the characteristics of odor isolation. Viruses and molds can easily attach to the surface of biodegradable plastics, so there are safety and hygiene concerns. However, polylactic acid is the only biodegradable plastic with excellent antibacterial and mildew resistance properties.

With the increasing emphasis on resource conservation and environmental protection, can plastic be replaced and upgraded? The widespread use of polylactic acid (PLA), a degraded biomass material, can not only alleviate the resource dependence brought by the "oil crisis", but also completely eradicate the white pollution. Prof. Ren Jie of Tongji University and famous macromolecule material expert appeals that our country should promote rapid development of polylactic acid industry.

The advantages of polylactic acid are as follows: first, the raw material is easy to obtain and renewable, which is suitable for large-scale intensive production; The permeability, transparency, gloss and hardness, tensile and bending modulus are comparable to those of traditional plastic resins; Third, better biocompatibility. Its monomeric material L-lactic acid is the endogenous active substance of human body, so polylactic acid products are non-toxic and non-repellent to human body, and can be absorbed by human body. It can be made into medical tissue skeleton material and medical carrier and safely used in human body, and has been certified by FDA. Fourth, complete degradability. Buried in the soil for 6 to 12 months, it can be degraded into carbon dioxide and water.