Today's KNOWLEDGE Share : PLA does not produce microplastics

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Study shows PLA does not produce persistent microplastics

In the Netherlands, a new meta-study report commissioned by Holland Bioplastics, an association advancing bioplastics knowledge worldwide, concludes that the fundamental characteristics of polylactic acid (PLA), a biobased polymer made entirely from fermented plant sugars, and the hydrolysis process indicate that PLA does not produce persistent microplastics. The literature research, completed by HYDRA Marine Sciences, a research laboratory, shows that unlike non-biodegradable polymers, which will persist and permanently accumulate as nano- or microplastics in the environment, PLA will hydrolyze into molecules of ever-smaller size, becoming soluble in water and eventually fully biodegraded.

The report’s findings were drawn from an initial scan of over 30,000 reports, of which 500 were identified by HYDRA as relevant and of sufficient quality for deeper review. The research confirmed that the environmental degradation of PLA is mainly driven by hydrolysis, an abiotic process that occurs in the presence of moisture or humidity. As long as these conditions prevail, the molecular weight and size of any PLA objects or fragments will continually decrease via hydrolysis, at a rate determined by temperature, until the polymer chains are so short that the material becomes soluble in water. These soluble substances, oligomers and lactic acid monomers, will subsequently be biodegraded by microorganisms into biomass, water, and carbon dioxide.

source:biofuelsdigest.com