Azeotropic dehydrative (solution) polycondensation of lactic acid to polylactic acid (PLA): A in-depth review of an overlooked method for manufacturing PLA

Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising biopolymers. PLA shows its versatility in biomedical, additive manufacturing, packaging, and many more applications. Its tailorable properties, biocompatibility, and good processibility have attracted researchers. Over the years, the manufacturing of PLA on an industrial scale has grown considerably. Different researchers have reported various methods for PLA synthesize. Ring-opening polymerization (ROP) is a widely used synthesize and commercial manufacturing method. But ROP is quite an expensive method, so it limits the application of PLA in many products. One of the most unexplored methods for PLA synthesize is azeotropic dehydrative polycondensation or solution polymerization. In this study, all methods are compiled and compared on various aspects.