Products made of PLA, for example in the consumer sector, are intended to replace plastics, which must neither be incinerated nor landfilled. But the problem is with its decomposition. PLA is not commonly compostable, hardly degrades in nature, forms microplastics and cannot be recycled like other plastics.

Scientists have constructed a test facility for the processing of waste PLA plastic that enables technological input tests for the efficient disposal of this non-degradable problematic waste in an energy-efficient way.

Transferring PLA into practice

The team is currently working on transferring the findings from the laboratory scale to real-world practice. “Since we are working with a much smaller quantity than the one assumed for the transfer of the technology into practice, it is necessary to have a considerable amount of patience and gradually cope with all the problems that may arise during the implementation,” says Olga Bičáková, the expert guarantor of the research task. According to Olga Bicakova, the establishment of cooperation with small and large producers of waste of this nature and with industrial companies involved in the processing of municipal waste and the use of waste plastics is ideal for the commercial use of the tested equipment.

The datasheet for this technology can be found in our Technology and Instruments Database.

Read the full article at Vedavyzkum.cz