IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v79y2017icp1346-1352.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Hydrolytic degradation of polylactic acid (PLA) and its composites

Author

Listed:
  • Elsawy, Moataz A.
  • Kim, Ki-Hyun
  • Park, Jae-Woo
  • Deep, Akash

Abstract

Biodegradable polymers are seen as a potential solution to the environmental problems generated by plastic waste. In particular, the renewable aliphatic polyesters of poly(hydroxyacid)-type homopolymers and copolymers consisting of polylactic acid (PLA), poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), and poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) constitute the most promising bioresorbable materials for applications in biomedical and consumer applications. Among those polymers, PLA has attracted particular attention as a substitute for conventional petroleum-based plastics. PLA is synthesized by the fermentation of renewable agricultural sources, including corn, cellulose, and other polysaccharides. Although some of its characteristics are disadvantageous (e.g., poor melt properties, mechanical brittleness, low heat resistance, and slow crystallization), there exist potential routes to resolve these shortcomings. These include copolymerization, blending, plasticization modification, or the addition of reinforcing phases (e.g., chitosan (Cs), cellulose, and starch). In this review, we discuss the degradation mechanisms of PLA and its modified form in the environment, current issues that hinder the achievement of good Cs/PLA combination, and ways to overcome some of these problems. Furthermore, our discussion is extended to cover the subjects of hydrolytic degradation and weathering effects with different Cs/PLA blends.

Suggested Citation

  • Elsawy, Moataz A. & Kim, Ki-Hyun & Park, Jae-Woo & Deep, Akash, 2017. "Hydrolytic degradation of polylactic acid (PLA) and its composites," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1346-1352.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:79:y:2017:i:c:p:1346-1352
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.143
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117307876
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.143?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sabbagh, Farzaneh & Muhamad, Ida Idayu, 2017. "Production of poly-hydroxyalkanoate as secondary metabolite with main focus on sustainable energy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 95-104.
    2. Bardhan, Soubhik K. & Gupta, Shelaka & Gorman, M.E. & Haider, M. Ali, 2015. "Biorenewable chemicals: Feedstocks, technologies and the conflict with food production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 506-520.
    3. Abdul Khalil, H.P.S. & Davoudpour, Y. & Saurabh, Chaturbhuj K. & Hossain, Md. S. & Adnan, A. S & Dungani, R. & Paridah, M.T. & Islam Sarker, Md. Z. & Fazita, M.R Nurul & Syakir, M.I & Haafiz, M.K.M., 2016. "A review on nanocellulosic fibres as new material for sustainable packaging: Process and applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 823-836.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Magdalena Zaborowska & Katarzyna Bernat & Bartosz Pszczółkowski & Irena Wojnowska-Baryła & Dorota Kulikowska, 2021. "Challenges in Sustainable Degradability of Bio-Based and Oxo-Degradable Packaging Materials during Anaerobic Thermophilic Treatment," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Khan, Abir & Sapuan, S.M. & Yusuf, J. & Siddiqui, Vasi Uddin & Zainudin, E.S. & Zuhri, M.Y.M. & Tuah Baharuddin, B.T. Hang & Ansari, Mubashshir Ahmad & Rahman, A. Azim A., 2023. "An examination of cutting-edge developments in Bamboo-PLA composite research: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    3. Adele Folino & Aimilia Karageorgiou & Paolo S. Calabrò & Dimitrios Komilis, 2020. "Biodegradation of Wasted Bioplastics in Natural and Industrial Environments: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-49, July.
    4. Rumana Hossain & Md Tasbirul Islam & Riya Shanker & Debishree Khan & Katherine Elizabeth Sarah Locock & Anirban Ghose & Heinz Schandl & Rita Dhodapkar & Veena Sahajwalla, 2022. "Plastic Waste Management in India: Challenges, Opportunities, and Roadmap for Circular Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-34, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Łukajtis, Rafał & Hołowacz, Iwona & Kucharska, Karolina & Glinka, Marta & Rybarczyk, Piotr & Przyjazny, Andrzej & Kamiński, Marian, 2018. "Hydrogen production from biomass using dark fermentation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 665-694.
    2. Aguirre-Fierro, Arelí & Ruiz, Héctor A. & Cerqueira, Miguel A. & Ramos-González, Rodolfo & Rodríguez-Jasso, Rosa M. & Marques, Susana & Lukasik, Rafal M., 2020. "Sustainable approach of high-pressure agave bagasse pretreatment for ethanol production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1347-1354.
    3. Seyed Rahman Djafari Petroudy & Bruno Chabot & Eric Loranger & Maryam Naebe & Jamileh Shojaeiarani & Samira Gharehkhani & Behzad Ahvazi & Jinguang Hu & Sabu Thomas, 2021. "Recent Advances in Cellulose Nanofibers Preparation through Energy-Efficient Approaches: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-31, October.
    4. Wan-Ting Li & Yueh-Hsiu Cheng, 2022. "Creating Sustainable Development of the Destination with Tea Public Version Packaging Design by Obtaining Relational Space Concept," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Yang, Lan & Wang, Xue-Chao & Dai, Min & Chen, Bin & Qiao, Yuanbo & Deng, Huijing & Zhang, Dingfan & Zhang, Yizhe & Villas Bôas de Almeida, Cecília Maria & Chiu, Anthony S.F. & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & W, 2021. "Shifting from fossil-based economy to bio-based economy: Status quo, challenges, and prospects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:79:y:2017:i:c:p:1346-1352. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.