Chemical Recycling of PLA: A Great Opportunity Towards the Sustainable Development?

Piemonte, Vincenzo; Sabatini, Silvia; Gironi, Fausto

doi:10.1007/s10924-013-0608-9

Cited by 148 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Considering the corn growing, the net CO 2 uptake from the atmosphere and harnessed in the polymer is 1.83 kg CO 2 eq/kg PLA, while CO 2 emitted in PLA production leads to a net greenhouse gas (GHG) emission of 0.6 kg CO 2 eq/kg PLA [3] in the entire process. [6][7][8] According to ISO 15270-2008, [9] mechanical recycling is the process in which plastics wastes are converted into products or secondary raw materials without significantly changing the material chemical structure. [3] However, bio-based polymers are not necessarily sustainable as it depends on how the material is discarded at the end of its usable life.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[3] However, bio-based polymers are not necessarily sustainable as it depends on how the material is discarded at the end of its usable life. [7] PLA recycling is very sensible to the process conditions with expressive increase on the melt flow index, decrease on the thermal stability and worsening on the mechanical properties after successive PLA extrusion process. [5] Due to the strict conditions of degradation, it is important to look for another waste reuse options as mechanical or chemical recycling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanical recycling simulation of polylactide using a chain extender

et al. 2017

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This work studied the commercial chain extender effectiveness on the mechanical recycling simulation of a pristine PLA using a single-screw extruder. We processed the material by two extrusion cycles to simulate a recycling process. In the second extrusion, part of the material was processed with chain extender and we evaluated its molecular weight, thermal degradation, melt flow index (MFI), thermal transitions, and mechanical properties. The molecular weight for the extruded neat PLA decreased and the MFI and crystallinity degree increased while the mechanical properties worsened. The onset thermal degradation occurred at lower temperature for the processed material. With the introduction of the chain extender, there was a recovery of properties with the increase in the polymer molecular weight, decrease in the MFI and crystallinity degree, and an improvement in both thermal stability and mechanical properties in relation to recycled PLA without this component. K E Y W O R D Sbiopolymers, extrusion, mechanical properties, recycling, thermal properties

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical recycling simulation of polylactide using a chain extender

et al. 2017

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“…In most cases PLA is biodegradable, but it takes a long time for PLA to be degraded completely [6][7][8]. Therefore, an effective degradation process is required for chemical recycling of PLA waste, which is a meaningful subject [9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ferric chloride as an efficient and reusable catalyst for methanolysis of poly(lactic acid) waste

et al. 2015

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Ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ) was used to catalyze the methanolysis of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to recover methyl lactate. The effects of experimental parameters such as reaction temperature, reaction time, amount of FeCl 3 and dosage of methanol on results were studied in detail. The results showed that under the optimized reaction conditions of n(methanol):n(PLA)=5:1, n(FeCl 3 ):n(PLA)=0.01:1, 130°C and 4.0 h, the conversion of PLA reached 96.0 % and the yield of methyl lactate was up to 87.2 %. FeCl 3 could be repeatedly used at least 6 times without significant decrease in the conversion of PLA and yield of methyl lactate under the given conditions. The kinetics of the reaction was also investigated. The results indicated that the methanolysis of PLA catalyzed by FeCl 3 was a first-order kinetic reaction with activation energy of 32.41 kJ/mol.

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“…If the technical analysis outlined above enables the X-wire racking system to be manufactured from thermoplastic, an initial investigation of distributed recycling shows promising environmental results . However, considerably more work is needed in this area to investigate the full range of thermoplastics such as the PLA used for testing here (Piemonte et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking

Wittbrodt

Pearce

2015

Solar Energy

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The economics in the U.S. of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is changing rapidly as the cost per unit power of PV modules has dropped quickly. These costs reductions have two important results: marked decrease in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) into ranges competitive or better than traditional electricity-generation technologies and the economic role of racking has been gaining prominence relative to that of modules. As the relative importance of costs of PV racking has been marginal historically, there has been relatively little progress on reducing the materials and costs associated with it, which has caused racking to contribute to a significant portion of costs of entire PV systems. In order to overcome this challenge this study investigates a novel low-weight PV racking system for commercial rooftops based on crossed cables (X-wires) and compares it to racking systems already available on the market on capital costs, labor costs for installation, and technical specifications such as adaptability and power packing factor. The results of over 80% cost reduction and 33% increase in power density are presented and conclusions are drawn about the potential for tension-based racking systems to further reduce total PV systems costs on commercial flat roof tops resulting in LCOE savings of $0.01-$0.02/kW h.

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Chemical Recycling of PLA: A Great Opportunity Towards the Sustainable Development?

Cited by 148 publications

References 19 publications

Mechanical recycling simulation of polylactide using a chain extender

Mechanical recycling simulation of polylactide using a chain extender

Ferric chloride as an efficient and reusable catalyst for methanolysis of poly(lactic acid) waste

Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking

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