A Novel Method For Chemical Recycling Of PLA Under Mild Conditions

By Bruce Anneaux, Ph.D., John Campanelli, Ph.D., Elizabeth Foley, Ph.D.

Because of its sensitivity to thermal degradation, PLA is difficult to recycle and actually becomes a contaminant in the plastics stream of municipal solid waste. Using the newly discovered process, different grades of PLA can be removed from a stream of commingled plastics and broken down to give high value chemicals. Some of these chemicals, called monomers, can be purified and used as feedstock to synthesize virgin PLA resin. Download the full white paper for more information on this process.