The heat stable stereocomplex polylactic acid (spla) is a new class of bioplastics which can be synthesized from its precursor, either (mixed enantiomeric) lactide or lactic acid, which is derived from the renewable resources such as corn, sweet potato or other resources containing glucose. the properties of spla are highly dependent on the purity (optical as well as chemical purity) of the monomer. the lactide is produced by two-step process i.e. oligomerization followed by depolymerization. we have developed the process to produce purified lactide as well as stereocomplex pla composite using modified chitosan. the melting point of the produced end product is found to be more than 200°c and heat deflection temperature is more than 140°c compared to approximate 70°c in case of pristine pla. the developed product application is very broad and can be used for the high-temperature commodity as well as engineering applications. it can be used to make carry bag, toys, 3d printed tools, biodegradable clothing, photovoltaic, food packaging, drug delivery, engineering application, etc. developing the biodegradable plastics such as pla and its stereocomplex pla is the solution to possibly replace enormous plastic waste generated in the country. we can produce pla in our laboratory is around 200 gm of the pla. however, higher scale production of spla is only required the reactor facility of higher batch size. as an example, the product such as tray made out of available commercial biodegradable pla is unable to hold hot beverages such as hot tea, water, coffee etc. and the addition of these hot beverages leads to mechanical deformation of the tray or cup. however, our formulated biodegradable plastics can hold these hot beverages without losing its integrity and shape.
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