Characterization of Sisal Boles for Production of Polylactic Acid (PLA)

Abstract

Biobased biodegradable plastics (bioplastics) show a large range of properties which can compete with non-biodegradable thermoplastics in packaging, textile and biomedical applications. Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising bioplastics, which are synthesized by polymerization of Lactic Acid (LA). Traditionally LA is produced from pure sugars and food crop sources like potatoes, cassava, corn, wheat, rice, sugar beet, sugar cane, and others. However, because of competition with existing uses, alternatives raw materials are being researched. One such alternative is the sisal boles. Sisal bole is part of the 98% of the sisal biomass which is traditionally counted as waste. Sisal boles as raw material for PLA are advantageous since it is not competing with food. This work characterizes sisal boles juice and its potential to produce biodegradable plastics. The sisal boles juice was extracted from chopped autoclaved boles using a hydraulic pressing machine. The juice was hydrolyzed to allow the sugar polymers to break into monomer sugar. The boles have been found to comprise of up to 97.94% (w/v) organic matters and total sugar content in juice of up to 30% (w/v). The produced juice mineral content levels were within the recommended working fermentation range with necessary nutrients for LA producing microorganisms. Sisal boles can therefore be one of the good raw materials for lactic acid production.