Download or read book Polylactic Acid Production - Cost Analysis - PLA E11A written by Intratec and published by Intratec. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 101 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents a cost analysis of Polylactic Acid (PLA) production from lactic acid using a melt-phase polymerization process. The process examined is similar to a process developed by Natureworks, in which poly(lactic acid) is produced from a 88 wt% lactic acid solution in water via the ring opening polymerization chemical pathway. In this process lactic acid is first oligomerized and then depolymerized into lactide, a cyclic dimer of lactic acid, which is then polymerized to yield Poly(lactic acid). This report was developed based essentially on the following reference(s): (1) US Patent 8674056, issued to NatureWorks in 2014 (2) EP Patent 1247808, issued to Cargill in 2003 Keywords: Lactide, 2-Hydroxypropanoic Acid, Dow, Biodegradable Polymer