(5) A successor climate change agreement approved in Paris COP21 Conference, December 2015, has set a goal to keep the world under 1.5 ☌ temperature rise. (4) At the 10 year mark, United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced those countries who took on the targets of the protocol have collectively reduced the emissions over 20% as opposed to the aimed target of 5%. Ratified by 145 nations around the world, the protocol entered into force in February 2005. The Kyoto Protocol was the first critical step taken toward a truly sustainable future it mandates emission cuts for industrialized nations. Preference for “renewable carbon” instead of “fossil carbon” stems from the very realization of our need to reduce nonrenewable resource consumption, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, being compostable and being renewable are not dependent or in conflict with each other, each has its own advantages. Industries are therefore seeing a major shift in the marketplace from “compostability” to “renewability”. On the flip side, there are not many cost-effective and compostable additives that are available to raise substantially the performance level of PLA while retaining its compostability. (3)īesides property enhancement with suitable additives, when the final formulations are intended for compostable applications, the materials should satisfy the compostability standards set forth in ASTM D6400 or EN 13432. According to European trade association for the bioplastics industry, the global production of durable bioplastics is forecasted to increase by 535% from 2014 to 2019. The application areas for PLA are widening with usage in durable structural parts generating particular high demand. (2) PLA was initially promoted for single use packaging applications, given the key benefit of short life cycle due to its compostable nature. Market demand for PLA has grown dramatically over the past decade, with much of it being in the packaging industry. It is available in the market at a price on a par with that of common plastics like polypropylene. (1) PLA already serves as an alternative to certain petroleum based plastics in commercial applications. (1, 2) From energy consumption, CO 2 emissions and end of life options, PLA is superior to many petroleum based polymers. PLA is a biodegradable thermoplastic polyester produced by condensation polymerization of lactic acid, which is derived by fermentation of sugars from carbohydrate sources such as corn, sugarcane or tapioca. Morphology and crystallinity that individually contribute to toughness and heat resistance have also been elucidated. Blends having super toughness and composites based on the toughened PLA blends formulated to obtain desired material properties are covered. In this perspective, we summarize the recent research progress in addressing the toughness vs strength and heat resistance conflict inherent in PLA. Does this mean a biobased and biodegradable polymer as polylactic acid (PLA) with its high strength but low toughness cannot be adopted for durable applications? Well, not exactly this is where the concept of tailoring the properties of PLA to achieve stiffness–toughness balance along with acceptable heat resistance comes into play. One necessary requirement for them is to be both tough and strong, yet the two attributes are often mutually exclusive. Durable bioplastics is desired for multiuse long-term application in automotive, electronics and other industries. The main objective is to replace “fossil carbon” with “renewable carbon”, a holistic strategy to mitigate climate change by minimizing the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. The latest generation is moving toward durable bioplastics having high biobased content. Evolution of the bioplastics industry has changed directions dramatically since the early 1990s.
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