Sugarcane bagasse as a material in the production of polylactic acid

Abstract

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is an abundant, renewable, and low-cost lignocellulosic material from sugarcane juice extraction. The SCB was used as a substrate for the production of lactic acid (LA), with Lactobacillus helveticus/Streptococcus thermophilus as bacteria, in different fermentation conditions: (4, 8, 24, 48, 72) hours, and (37, 40)◦C. The highest concentration of LA was 3.56 g/L at 40◦C after 72 hours of fermentation. The polymerization of LA was the ring opening method, obtaining 1.15 g of PLA with a yield of 19.29% and 0.12% concerning lactide and SCB. Although the concentration obtained is low concerning other research, the SCB use in countries with high sugar cane production represents an eco-friendly proposal for producing organic acids and biobased polymers with properties similar to the synthetic origin. This research provides an environmental solution to the problem of agribusiness waste and a proposal with the potential to develop new products.