Polylactic Acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic made by the polymerization of lactic acid produced by fermentation of natural plant materials from renewable resources such as corn starch or sugar cane. It belongs to thermoplastic aliphatic polyester, which can be completely decomposed into carbon dioxide and water under certain conditions, so it is considered an environmentally friendly polymer material. The features of PLA material are:
- good biocompatibility and biodegradability: PLA is not only non-toxic and harmless to human body, but also can be decomposed into carbon dioxide and water by microorganisms in the natural environment, which will not cause long-term pollution to the environment.
- excellent mechanical properties: high strength and toughness, suitable for a variety of molding processing methods, such as injection molding, blow molding, extrusion, etc..
- High transparency: unmodified PLA presents good optical transparency, suitable for packaging materials and other fields.
- Easy to process: Compared with traditional petroleum-based plastics, PLA has a lower melting point and a wider processing temperature range, making it easy to mold.
