Polylactic acid (PLA)

Degradable plastics can be gradually decomposed into fragments and eventually completely degraded by optimizing the selection of production materials and production processes under the combined effects of sun, rain and microorganisms for several days or months. The raw materials of degradable plastics mainly include: polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, carbon dioxide copolymers, starch, modified starch or other cellulose, photosensitizers, biodegradants, etc.

Degradable means that it can be decomposed naturally, mainly including: paper, wood, plants, food, etc., under the action of microorganisms, eventually form compounds in common forms in nature such as carbon dioxide and water. Ubiquitous plastic products have made people’s lives more convenient, but the resulting plastic waste has caused a lot of pollution to the ecological environment. The white pollution caused by plastic products, led by plastic bags, is gradually endangering the natural environment and people’s normal lives. To deal with “white pollution”, an important method is to replace ordinary plastics with degradable plastics. Degradable plastics can be gradually decomposed into fragments and eventually completely degraded under the combined action of sun, rain and microorganisms for several days or months by optimizing the selection of production raw materials and production processes. At present, the raw materials for degradable plastics are mainly:

Polylactic acid (PLA) is polymerized from lactide monomers extracted from plant sugars and can be completely degraded into water and carbon dioxide under industrial composting. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are aliphatic copolyesters of different structures synthesized by microorganisms through fermentation of various carbon sources. They can not only be used for packaging materials, agricultural films, etc., but also widely used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, animal feed and other fields.

Carbon dioxide copolymer (PPC) is similar in appearance to polyethylene plastic, has good elasticity, can be completely degraded in the soil in a short time, and can be directly absorbed and utilized by plants. Other additives: A certain amount of additives (such as starch, modified starch or other cellulose, photosensitizer, biodegradation agent, etc.) are added during the production process of plastic packaging products to reduce the stability of plastics and make them easier to degrade in the natural environment.