Dahlia Haynes, a “green chemistry” speaker from Clemson University, came to UTM Jan. 26 to discuss “The Renewable Resource Material, Polylactide, for Commodity Thermoplastic Applications.” The presentation was sponsored by the UT Martin Student Affiliates of the American Chemistry Society (SAACS). “Green chemistry” refers to chemical techniques that concentrate on renewable resources and use environmentally-friendly production methods.

Haynes’ presentation concentrated on introducing a new kind of plastic, polylactide (PLA) for our everyday usage. Polylactides are biodegradable chemical compounds that are synthesized in large scale using renewable resources, as opposed to non-renewable petroleum bases.

“Polylactide is a recent development and has been in use for the last five or so years,” says Haynes. As she added, PLA is one of the few needed innovations to diminish the pollution with waste and prevent the depletion of natural resources. “Petroleum is used to make most plastics. We are diminishing our oil resources at a fast rate ... Now we want to go back to the soil and water instead of being surrounded with landfills.”

Dr. Airee, UTM professor of Chemistry said, “It’s being pushed now as a commodity material to decrease our dependence on oil.” Basically, polylactic acid can be used as a substitute for petroleum to produce such products as cups, plates, rigid food containers, food wrappers and bags, carpets, upholstery, awnings, wall panels, fibers and surgery sutures that do not have to be removed later since these will “dissolve” or biodegrade.

PLA was discovered in 1932, and in 1994 a low-cost production method triggered its spread in the market. Through much experimentation, PLA was synthesized based upon their utilization in a variety of applications and their properties investigated. This led to the fact that incorporation of other materials can enhance the properties of PLA improving them for a variety of applications. “Green chemistry” advocates say there are many advantages for using PLA-made materials. Aside from being completely biodegradable, it comes from annually renewable resources like corn and sugar beets. Its production requires 20 to 50 percent less energy than that of usual plastic since it is naturally fermentable in aqueous media without the need for organic solvents or other hazardous chemicals. Finally due to its closed-loop production cycle, it barely leaves any waste.

Currently, there are ten national institutions including UTM that are active with “green chemistry,” whose main goal is to design such chemical products and processes as to reduce—if not eliminate—the use and production of hazardous materials. “Awareness has to be there,” said Dr. Airee, “Green chemistry says ‘don’t make a mess to clean it up later.’”

Haynes’ appearance was sponsored by the UTM Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society.