Poly-(lactic acid) (PLA) derived materials are an attractive alternative to conventional water purification systems. Because they are derived from a renewable feedstock and degrade to environmentally benign products, PLA based water purification systems have the potential to generate no net hazardous waste throughout their lifecycle. Series of triblock copolymers, linear and star, were synthesized from L-lactide and lactone derivatives using a straightforward two-step procedure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that changing the ratio of L-lactide and lactone in the polymer synthesis led to differences in the polymer morphology that could impact how the polymers adsorb a small molecule pollutant. The effect of the polymer composition was tested using spectroscopic studies with small molecule pollutants in water. Preliminary results indicate that the polymers exhibit some selectivity in removing organic pollutants from aqueous environments. E factors were calculated as a metric to evaluate the sustainability of the polymer synthesis. Overall, the polymerization process followed the principles of green chemistry and a detailed life cycle analysis of the tri-block copolymers also will be discussed.

Linear and star block copolymers derived from biorenewable resources as adsorbents for waste water remediation

255th National Meeting (2018)

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