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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发强大的制造方法，将由废旧聚乳酸树脂制成的新型生物基塑料商业化，从而产生一种有效解决生物塑料，特别是聚乳酸（PLA）报废管理的新方法。聚乳酸是业界领先的生物塑料，因为它是可堆肥的，由玉米制成。然而，今天生产的许多基于pla的产品在使用寿命结束时被填埋或焚烧。尽管PLA和其他生物塑料是可堆肥的，但美国的工业堆肥基础设施非常有限。在这项工作下，将开发和优化商业规模的反应挤出工艺，用于从PLA废料中稳健地生产超支化PLA聚合物。第一阶段的研究证实，超分支显著提高了废PLA的熔体强度和力学性能。这些优点使超支化PLA的性能达到或超过原始PLA的性能。正在开发的工艺技术将克服废料PLA原料的显著变化，允许生产具有统一产品质量的树脂。反应挤压过程赋予超分支是经济有效和可扩展的。这一过程将使一个可行的企业销售回收的聚乳酸树脂作为一种增值材料，用于耐用品应用。该项目的更广泛的影响/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。用较低成本的原料制造改进的聚乳酸树脂最终将扩大聚乳酸的商业应用，并为废旧聚乳酸创造一个新的市场。目前美国PLA市场约为3亿磅，并以每年约15%的速度增长。使用聚乳酸的商业塑料加工商和复合商将能够通过使用该技术取代或补充使用再生聚乳酸。此外，通过提供一种具有商业吸引力的PLA回收方法，这种新工艺将有效地激励回收商从其废物来源中去除PLA。由于PLA树脂的价格较高，PLA在耐用品市场的渗透一直缓慢。通过使用超支化的回收PLA作为源自包装或消耗品的原料，可以显著降低耐用产品的材料成本。通过超分支回收PLA提供了一种显着延长PLA寿命的方法，并帮助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.