Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate

Xue Liu; Hang Li; Jun-Xiang Dai; Guo-Qiang Tian; Si-Chong Chen; Gang Wu; Yu-Zhong Wang

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7

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Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-07-14

- Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 6, Pages: 981-993(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, National Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymer Materials, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
  b.College of Architecture and Environment, The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
  c.State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
- Author bio：
  
  tian_guoqiang@yeah.net (G.Q.T.)
  yzwang@scu.edu.cn (Y.Z.W.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7
  CLC：
- Received：25 April 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-05-07，
  
  Accepted：08 May 2025，
  
  Online First：20 May 2025，
  
  Published：20 May 2025
- Accepted：
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Liu, X.; Li, H.; Dai, J. X.; Tian, G. Q.; Chen, S. C.; Wu, G.; Wang, Y. Z. Efficient hydrolysis of poly(lactic acid) at room temperature to recycle self-separated calcium lactate. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 981–993

Xue Liu, Hang Li, Jun-Xiang Dai, et al. Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(6): 981-993.
Liu, X.; Li, H.; Dai, J. X.; Tian, G. Q.; Chen, S. C.; Wu, G.; Wang, Y. Z. Efficient hydrolysis of poly(lactic acid) at room temperature to recycle self-separated calcium lactate. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 981–993 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7.

Xue Liu, Hang Li, Jun-Xiang Dai, et al. Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(6): 981-993. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7.

摘要

Table of Contents: A homogeneous hydrolysis method has been developed for the efficient hydrolysis of PLA at room temperature

facilitating the recycling of self-precipitated calcium lactate and establishing a closed-loop system among "calcium lactate ⇌ PLA".

Abstract

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)

a bio-based polymer

is considered to be a sustainable alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. However

owing to its widespread use and relatively slow degradation rate in water

PLA still poses potential environmental pollution risks after being discarded. The efficient chemical recycling of PLA represents an attractive approach to addressing both resource reuse and environmental pollution challenges caused by its waste. Hydrolysis is the predominant method of industrial recycling. However

because PLA is insoluble in water

efficient heterogeneous hydrolysis requires high-temperature and high-pressure conditions. In this study

an efficient homogenous hydrolysis method capable of simultaneously dissolving PLA and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)

) was developed. Suitable solvents for this method were screened

and it was found that PLA hydrolysis using dioxane and 1

13-Pen-taoxacyclopentadecane as solvents achieved conversion rates of 93% and 90%

respectively

within 2 h at room temperature. Notably

the hydrolysis product

calcium lactate

precipitated as a solid from the solvent and therefore self-se

parated from the reaction solution. The solvent

acid/base conditions

water content

and depolymerization kinetics were investigated. Compared with previously reported hydrolysis methods

the enhanced efficiency observed in this study can be attributed to the concurrent solvation of PLA and Ca(OH)

which maintains homogeneity throughout the reaction process. Additionally

this method facilitates closed-loop recycling of PLA and is compatible with the highly selective recovery of PLA from various types of PLA products.

关键词

Keywords

references

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