PLA Food Packaging

PLA is short for Polylactic acid. It is a thermoplastic filament derived from natural, renewable sources like corn starch or sugar cane. First discovered by Wallace Corothers, the inventor of Nylon, in the 1920s, PLA was not initially used commercially. PLA is sometimes called "corn plastic.”PLA, or polylactic acid, is a bioplastic made from renewable resources like cornstarch or sugarcane. PLA is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastics that can take years to decompose.While PLA is biodegradable and compostable,a Wageningen Food & Biobased Research study found that compostable products made with PLA disintegrated faster than orange peels or paper. The study showed that the PLA-based products couldn't be recovered even after one composting cycle of 11 days, raising questions about their effectiveness in reducing waste. It's important to note that the biodegradability and compostability of PLA may vary depending on the conditions of composting facilities and other factors.

The manufacturing process for PLA involves several steps, including fermentation, separation, purification, and polymerization.During fermentation, microorganisms break down the starches in corn or sugarcane into simple sugars.These sugars are then separated and purified before being transformed into lactic acid through polymerization.Finally, the lactic acid is polymerized and converted into PLA resin pellets, which can produce various products, including food packaging, disposable utensils, and 3D printing filaments.PLA is an explicit and transparent material, just like PET, making it an ideal food packaging option.One of the most significant advantages is that you can see the contents without opening the package.

sale02@sdzlplastic.com

www.sdzlplastic.com