TY - JOUR
T1 - Efficient ZnO aqueous nanoparticle catalysed lactide synthesis for poly(lactic acid) fibre production from food waste
AU - Hu, Yunzi
AU - Daoud, Walid A.
AU - Fei, Bin
AU - Chen, Lei
AU - Kwan, Tsz Him
AU - Ki Lin, Carol Sze
PY - 2017/11/1
Y1 - 2017/11/1
N2 - This study demonstrates the feasibility of poly(lactic acid) fibre production using fermentative lactic acid from food waste. Poly(lactic acid) was synthesized through ring-opening polymerization, in which the precursor lactide was produced by a novel catalytic method. Zinc oxide aqueous nanoparticle (30-40 nm) dispersion was applied as efficient catalyst due to its large surface area and rapid equilibrium between polymerization and depolymerization. Under optimal reaction conditions, lactide was produced at yields of 91-92% within 8 h, significantly improving the synthesis efficiency compared to the conventional tin-based catalytic method. The pure lactide product facilitated the conversion of food waste derived lactic acid to high molecular weight poly(lactic acid) (150,000 g mol -1 ), which was subsequently spun to fibres with promising tensile and thermal properties for potential applications in textile and bioplastics.
AB - This study demonstrates the feasibility of poly(lactic acid) fibre production using fermentative lactic acid from food waste. Poly(lactic acid) was synthesized through ring-opening polymerization, in which the precursor lactide was produced by a novel catalytic method. Zinc oxide aqueous nanoparticle (30-40 nm) dispersion was applied as efficient catalyst due to its large surface area and rapid equilibrium between polymerization and depolymerization. Under optimal reaction conditions, lactide was produced at yields of 91-92% within 8 h, significantly improving the synthesis efficiency compared to the conventional tin-based catalytic method. The pure lactide product facilitated the conversion of food waste derived lactic acid to high molecular weight poly(lactic acid) (150,000 g mol -1 ), which was subsequently spun to fibres with promising tensile and thermal properties for potential applications in textile and bioplastics.
KW - Food waste
KW - Lactide synthesis
KW - poly(lactic acid)
KW - Ring-opening polymerization
KW - Zinc oxide nanoparticle
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85028358757&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/pubmetrics.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85028358757&origin=recordpage
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.067
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.067
M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 165
SP - 157
EP - 167
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
ER -