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Poly Lactic Acid

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 polymerized to make PLA Can be made from plants containing starches/sugars like corn, sugar beets, sugar cane, wheat etc.

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Poly Lactic Acid

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  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!

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