SBIR Phase II: Expanding the Sustainability of Bio-plastics and PLA by Postponing End-of-Life through the use of Reactive Extrusion Chemistries

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将开发强大的制造方法，以商业化由废弃PLA树脂制成的新型生物基塑料，从而产生一种有效解决生物塑料，特别是聚乳酸（PLA）寿命终止管理的新方法。PLA是行业领先的生物塑料，因为它是可堆肥的，由玉米制成。然而，今天制造的许多PLA产品在其寿命结束时被填埋或焚烧。尽管是可堆肥的，但美国用于PLA和其他生物塑料的工业堆肥基础设施非常有限。在这项工作中，将开发和优化一种商业规模的反应挤出工艺，用于从废PLA中稳健地生产超支化PLA聚合物。第一阶段的研究证实，超支化显着提高熔体强度和机械性能的PLA废料。这些益处赋予超支化PLA满足或超过原始PLA的性质的性质。正在开发的工艺技术将克服废聚乳酸原料的显著变化，允许生产具有统一产品质量的树脂。赋予超支化的反应性挤出方法是成本有效的和可扩展的。这一过程将使一个可行的企业出售回收的聚乳酸树脂作为增值材料，用于耐用品应用。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发和商业化一种重要的、新颖的、具有成本效益的方法，通过增加最广泛使用的生物塑料PLA的价值来满足使塑料更具可持续性的迫切需求。从低成本原料生产改进的PLA树脂将最终扩大PLA的商业应用，并为PLA废料创造一个新的市场。目前美国PLA市场约为3亿磅，每年增长约15%。使用PLA的商业塑料加工商和混配商将能够通过使用该技术用回收的PLA替代或补充使用原始PLA。此外，通过提供一种商业上有吸引力的方法来回收PLA，这种新工艺将有效地激励回收商从废物源中去除PLA。由于PLA树脂价格较高，PLA进入耐用品市场的速度一直很慢。通过使用超支化的回收PLA作为来自包装或消费品的原料，可以显著降低耐用产品的材料成本。通过超支化回收PLA提供了一种显着延长寿命的方法，并有助于使PLA充分发挥其作为可持续，资源可再生生物塑料的潜力。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop robust manufacturing methods to commercialize novel biobased plastics made from scrap PLA resins, resulting in a new method to effectively address end-of-life management of bioplastics, specifically polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is the industry leading bioplastic as it is compostable and made from corn. However, many PLA-based products manufactured today are land filled or incinerated at their end of life. Despite being compostable, industrial composting infrastructure for PLA and other bioplastics in the United States is very limited. Under this work, a commercial scale reactive extrusion process will be developed and optimized for the robust production of hyperbranched PLA polymers from scrap PLA. Phase I research verified that hyperbranching dramatically improves the melt strength and mechanical properties of scrap PLA. These benefits give hyperbranched PLA properties that meet or exceed those of virgin PLA. The process technology being developed will overcome the significant variability in scrap PLA feedstocks, allowing for production of resin with uniform product quality. The reactive extrusion process to impart hyperbranching is cost-effective and scalable. This process will enable a viable business to sell recycled PLA resin as a value-added material intended for durable goods applications. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is the development and commercialization of an important, novel, and cost effective way to meet the pressing need of making plastics more sustainable by adding value to the most broadly used bioplastic, PLA. Creating improved PLA resins from lower cost feedstock will ultimately expand commercial applications for PLA and create a new market for scrap PLA. The current U.S. market for PLA is approximately 300 million pounds and growing at approximately 15% annually. Commercial plastic processors and compounders using PLA will be able to replace or supplement use of virgin PLA with recycled PLA by using this technology. Additionally, by providing a commercially attractive method to recycle PLA, this new process will effectively incentivize recyclers to remove PLA from their waste sources. Penetration of PLA into durable goods markets has been slow due to the higher price of PLA resin. By using hyperbranched, recycled PLA as a feedstock that originates from packaging or consumable products, the materials costs for durable products can be significantly reduced. Recycling PLA by hyperbranching offers a way to significantly extend the end of life and help enable PLA achieve its full potential as a sustainable, resource renewable bioplastic.