Making lactic acid from glycerol more efficient than from sugar

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a degradable plastic used mostly for packaging. The demand for PLA is constantly rising and has been estimated to reach about one megaton per year by 2020.
To meet the rising demand, Researchers at ETH Zürich in Switzerland have developed an eco-friendly process to make large amounts of lactic acid from glycerol, a waste by-product in the production of biodiesel. The process is more productive, cost-effective and climate-friendly than sugar fermentation, which is the technology currently used to produce lactic acid. An article about the research is published in Energy & Environmental Science (News Item ETH Zürich, 4 December 2014).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.

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