Chemical Recycling of Commercial Poly(l-lactic acid) to l-Lactide Using a High-Performance Sn(II)/Alcohol Catalyst System.

ABSTRACT: Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a leading commercial polymer produced from biomass, showing useful properties for plastics and fiber applications; after use, it is compostable. One area for improvement is postconsumer waste PLLA chemical recycling to monomer (CRM), i.e., the formation of l-lactide (l-LA) from waste plastic. This process is currently feasible at high reaction temperatures and shows low catalytic activity accompanied, in some cases, by side reactions, including epimerization. Here, a commercial Sn(II) catalyst, applied with nonvolatile commercial alcohol, enables highly efficient CRM of PLLA to yield l-LA in excellent yield and purity (92% yield, >99% l-LA from theoretical max.). The depolymerization is performed using neat polymer films at low temperatures (160 °C) under a ni

SUBMITTER: McGuire TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10510327 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature