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

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

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
- Efficient Hydrolysis of Poly(lactic acid) at Room Temperature to Recycle Self-separated Calcium Lactate
- 高分子科学（英文） 2025年43卷第6期页码：981-993
- 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：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2021YFB3801901) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22075188 and U19A2095). This project was supported by State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology.;Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3378-7
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2025-04-25，
  
  修回：2025-05-07，
  
  录用：2025-05-08，
  
  网络首发：2025-05-20，
  
  纸质出版：2025-05-20
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
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

Abdel-Rahman, M. A.; Tashiro, Y.; Sonomoto, K. Lactic acid production from lignocellulose-derived sugars using lactic acid bacteria: overview and limits. J. Biotechnol. 2011 , 156 , 286−301..

Abdel-Rahman, M. A.; Tashiro, Y.; Sonomoto, K. Recent advances in lactic acid production by microbial fermentation processes. Biotechnol. Adv. 2013 , 31 , 877−902..

Pu, X. Q.; Liu, R. R.; Xie, Y. T.; Yang, C. J.; Chen, J. Y.; Guo, B. L.; Zhao, C. X.; Zhao, P.; Ruan, J.; Ye, F. F.; Weitz, D. A.; Chen, D. One-step preparation of biocompatible amphiphilic dimer nanoparticles with tunable particle morphology and surface property for interface stabilization and drug delivery. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2025 , 36 , 109820..

Gao, Q.; Duan, L. J.; Feng, X. R.; Xu, W. G. Superiority of poly(L-lactic acid) microspheres as dermal fillers. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2021 , 32 , 577−582..

Zhang, Y.; Miao, X.; Pan, G.; Shi, H.; Yan, H.; Xu, J.; Guo,M.; Li, S. Highly improved permeation property of thin-film-composite polyamide membrane for water desalination. J. Polym. Res. 2017 , 24 , 1−12..

Nova-Institute, Bioplastics market data. https://www.european-bioplastics.org/ market/, 2022 (accessed 3 October 2023).

Pérez-Fonseca, A. A.; González-López M. E.; Robledo-Ortíz, J. R. Reprocessing and recycling of poly(lactic acid): a review. J. Polym. Environ. 2023 , 31 , 4143−4159..

Rudnik, E.; Briassoulis, D. Degradation behaviour of poly (lactic acid) films and fibres in soil under Mediterranean field conditions and laboratory simulations testing. Ind. Crops Prod. 2011 , 33 , 648−658..

Nampoothiri, K. M.; Nair, N. R.; John, R. P. An overview of the recent developments in polylactide (PLA) research. Bioresour. Technol. 2010 , 101 , 8493−8501..

Schwarz, A. E.; Ligthart, T. N.; Bizarro, D. G.; Wild, P. D.; Vreugdenhil, B.; Harmelen, T. V. Plastic recycling in a circular economy; determining environmental performance through an LCA matrix model approach. Waste Manage. 2021 , 121 , 331−342..

Hong, M.; Chen, E. Y. X. Chemically recyclable polymers: a circular economy approach to sustainability. Green Chem. 2017 , 19 , 3692−3706..

Piemonte, V.; Sabatini, S.; Gironi, F. Chemical recycling of PLA: a great opportunity towards the sustainable development. J. Polym. Environ. 2013 , 21 , 640−647..

McKeown, P.; Jones, M. D. The chemical recycling of PLA: a review. Sustain. Chem. 2020 , 1 , 1−22..

Alberti, C.; Damps, N.; Meißner, R. R. R.; Hofmann, M.; Rijono, D.; Enthaler, S. Selective degradation of end-of-life poly(lactide) via alkali-metal-halide catalysis. Adv. Sust. Syst. 2020 , 4 , 1900081..

Zhou, N.; Dai, L.; Lyu, Y.; Wang, Y.; Li, H.; Cobb, K.; Chen, P.;Lei, H.; Ruan, R. A structured catalyst of ZSM-5/SiC foam for chemical recycling of waste plastics via catalytic pyrolysis. Chem. Eng. J. 2022 , 440 , 135836..

Undri, A.; Rosi, L.; Frediani, M. Conversion of poly(lactic acid) to lactide via microwave assisted pyrolysis. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis. 2014 , 110 , 55−65..

Kopinke, F. D.; Remmler, M. Thermal decomposition of biodegradable polyesters—II. Poly(lactic acid). Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 1996 , 53 , 329−342..

Majgaonkar P.; Hanich R.; Malz, F. Che mical recycling of post-consumer PLA waste for sustainable production of ethyl lactate. Chem. Eng. J. 2021 , 423 , 129952..

Dolzhenko, A. V. Ethyl lactate and its aqueous solutions as sustainable media for organic synthesis. Sustain. Chem. Pharm. 2020 , 18 , 100322..

Niaounakis, M. Recycling of biopolymers—the patent perspective. Eur. Polym. J. 2019 , 114 , 464−475..

Nim, B.; and Opaprakasit, P. Quantitative analyses of products from chemical recycling of polylactide (PLA) by alcoholysis with various alcohols and their applications as healable lactide-based polyurethanes. J. Spectrochim. Acta, Part A 2021 , 255 , 119684..

Rosli, N. A.; Karamanlioglu, M.; Kargarzadeh, H. Comprehensive exploration of natural degradation of poly(lactic acid) blends in various degradation media: a review. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2021 , 187 , 732−741..

Janczak, K.; Dąbrowska, B.; Raszkowska-Kaczor, A. Biodegradation of the plastics PLA and PET in cultivated soil with the participation of microorganis ms and plants. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad. 2020 , 155 , 105087..

González-López, M. E.; Campo, A. S. M.; Robledo-Ortíz, J. R. Accelerated weathering of poly(lactic acid) and its biocomposites: a review. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 2020 , 179 , 109290..

Elsawy, M. A.; Kim, K. H.; Park, J. W. Hydrolytic degradation of polylactic acid (PLA) and its composites. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 2017 , 79 , 1346−1352..

Li, C.; Liu, Q.; Gong, W.; Zhou, Z.; Yao, Z.; Meng, X. Study on the atomic scale of thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of polylactic acid via reactive molecular dynamics simulation. Thermochim. Acta 2022 , 709 , 179144..

Sun, C.; Wei, S.; Tan, H. Progress in upcycling polylactic acid waste as an alternative carbon source: a review. Chem. Eng. J. 2022 , 446 , 136881..

NatureWorks LLC. https://www.natureworksllc.com/sustainability/end-of-life-opportunities/chemical-recycling (accessed Home page).

TotalEnergies Corbion. https://www.totalenergies-corbion.com/news/new-white-paper-stay-in-the-cycle/ (accessed 29 November 2022).

Yagihashi, M.; Funazukuri, T. Recovery of L-lactic acid from poly(L-lactic acid) under hydrothermal conditions of dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide solution. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2010 , 49 , 1247−1251..

Wu, W.; Zhai, H.; Wu, K. Cheap organocatalyst diphenyl phosphate for efficient chemical recycling of poly(lactic acid), other polyesters and polycarbonates. Chem. Eng. J. 2024 , 480 , 148131..

Alex, A.; Ilango, N. K.; Ghosh, P. Comparative role of chain scission and solvation in the biodegradation of polylactic acid (PLA). J. Phys. Chem. B 2018 , 122 , 9516−9526..

Gironi, F.; Frattari, S.; Piemonte, V. PLA chemical recycling process optimization: PLA solubilization in organic solvents. J. Polym. Environ. 2016 , 24 , 328−333..

Iñiguez-Franco, F.; Auras, R.; Dolan, K. Chemical recycling of poly(lactic acid) by water-ethanol solutions. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 2018 , 149 , 28−38..

Iñiguez-Franco, F.; Auras, R.; Burgess, G. Concurrent solvent induced crystallization and hydrolytic degradation of PLA by water-ethanol solutions. Polymer. 2016 , 99 , 315−323..

Song, X.; Wang H.; Yang X. Hydrolysis of poly(lactic acid) into calcium lactate using ionic liquid [Bmim ] [OAc ] for chemical recycling. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 2014 , 110 , 65−70..

Von Burkersroda, F.; Sched, L.; Göpferich, A. Why degradable polymers undergo surface erosion or bulk erosion. Biomaterials 2002 , 23 , 4221−4231..

Dusselier, M.; Van, P.; Dewaele, A. Lactic acid as a platform chemical in the biobased economy: the role of chemocatalysis. Energy Environ. Sci. 2013 , 6 , 1415−1442..

Sheldon, R. A. Selective catalytic synthesis of fine chemicals: opportunities and trends. J. Mol. Catal. A:Chem. 1996 , 107 , 75−83..

Balla, E.; Daniilidis, V.; Karlioti, G. Poly(lactic acid): a versatile biobased polymer for the future with multifunctional properties—from monomer synthesis, polymerization techniques and molecular weight increase to PLA applications. Polymers 2021 , 13 , 1822..

Tian, N.; Li, Y. Q.; Gan, H. Y.; Ning, Z. B.; Jiang, N.; Gan, Z. H. Synergistic effect of multi-arm architecture and molecular weight on crystallization and degradation behavior of star-shaped poly(lactic acid). Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2024 , 42 , 1948−1956..

Tsuji, H.; Daimon, H.; Fujie, K. A new strategyfor recycling and preparation of poly(L-lactic acid): hydrolysis in the melt. Biomacromolecules 2003 , 4 , 835−840..

Hirao, K.; Shimamoto, Y.; Nakatsuchi, Y. Hydrolysis of poly(l-lactic acid) using microwave irradiation. Polym. Degrad. Stabil. 2010 , 95 , 86−88..

Liguori, F.; Moreno-Marrodán, C.; Oberhauser, W. Hydrolytic depolymerisation of polyesters over heterogeneous ZnO catalyst. RSC Sustain. 2023 , 1 , 1394−1403..

浏览量

320

Downloads

CSCD

文章被引用时，请邮件提醒。

Submit

工具集

关联资源

Enhanced Segment Mobility Promotes Stereocomplex Crystallization in Polymer Blends via Elevated Segmental Miscibility

Bioinspired Zinc-doped Nano Hydroxyapatite Reinforced Poly(lactic acid) Composites for Bone Repair

A Phosphorus/Nitrogen-containing Phosphaphenanthrene Derivative as Flame Retardant for Poly(lactic acid)

Epoxy-functionalized Cyclohexane-based Ricinoleate Plasticizer: Synthesis, Performance Evaluation, and Plasticizing Mechanism

Squaramide-directed Cooperative One-dimensional Assembly in Telechelic Polydimethylsiloxane for Hierarchical Network Formation