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4.3.3 Biodegradability of Polylactic Acid
ОглавлениеPLA attains researchers’ keen attention among all the biodegradable plastics due to its complete application in the agriculture and packaging industry, as PLA films are mechanically stable and biodegradable. Biodegradation of PLA occurs in the following two pathways: (a) Fragmentation of the polymer leading chains occurs via hydrolysis in the presence of acidic or basic conditions. Moisture plays a vital role in lowering Mn values below 40000, (b) followed by bio-assimilation of disintegrated oligomers by environmental microorganisms to carbon dioxide, water, etc. Biodegradability depends on the chemical structure as well as the polymer sources. Proteinase K was a widely used microorganism for PLA bio-degradation [23]. However, they are able to degrade oligomer products or lactic acids but not PLA itself. Degradability can be controlled in various synthetic ways, and a few popular methods are discussed as follows.