Development of Four Unit Processes for Biobased PLA Manufacturing

Table 1

Reaction conditions of oligomer PLA and lactide manufacturing.

Catalyst	Oligomer PLA’s molecular weight (Mw)	Reaction temp. (°C)	Reaction time (hr)	Lactide recovery content (kg)	Image of lactide
Without	458 g/mol	150/235 (step increase)	4/5	Small
Without	411 g/mol	150/235 (step increase)	4/6	Small
Without	441 g/mol	150/235 (step increase)	4/7	Small
Sn(OEt)2	785 g/mol	150/235 (step increase)	4/4	Small
ZnO	3354 g/mol	150/235 (continuous increase)	1/4	Small
ZnO	4141 g/mol	150/235 (continuous increase)	1/3	Medium
ZnO	7760 g/mol	150/235 (continuous increase)	1/2.5	Large