Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Chemical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Hestekin, Jamie A.

Abstract

Society relies on plastic products, whether they are single use or durable. A downside of plastic is that the most common type is a product of oil and oil is not only a limited resource but also a climate-damaging resource. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bio-based, biodegradable plastic. However, the process of converting biomass to polylactic acid polymer has the largest environmental impact of the PLA production process, so alternative methods of conversion are needed (Moretti et al., 2021). The polylactic acid polymer can be made with lactic acid, which can be converted from glucose.

Keywords

Electrodeionization; Separation; Organic acid; Lactic acid; Catalysis

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