Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference (한국고분자학회:학술대회논문집)

The Polymer Society of Korea (한국고분자학회)
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Polymerization of L-Lactic Acid through Direct Polycondensation

  • Achmad, Feerzet (Department of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) ;
  • Ken, Seki (Department of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) ;
  • Kawano, Yuki (Department of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) ;
  • Kokugan, Takao (Department of Chemical Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
  • Published : 2006.10.13
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Abstract

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a promising polymer because it can be derived from renewable resources and provides a biodegradable alternative to petrochemical based polymers. This research aims to synthesize PLA, through direct polycondensation and also tries to avoid the occurrence of separation by-product and the use of catalysts in the process. The polymerization of lactic acid was done at three different temperatures $150^{\circ}C,\;180^{\circ}C\;and\;200^{\circ}C$ for 90 h without catalysts and organic solvent. The proposed process provides results that are comparable to those that incorporate catalysts; during polymerization temperature was $180^{\circ}C$ the molecular weight of PLA obtained reached 42448 Da. The thermal properties of PLA analysis by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).

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