World’s First Commercial Plant of Microwave-Assisted Polymer Synthesis Process
Manufacturing of industrial chemicals like organic compounds and polymeric materials usually involves procedures which are done at high temperature for an extended period of time requiring large amounts of organic solvents which results in producing harmful wastes as by-products forcing the manufacturer of such chemicals to develop energy saving production process that do not generate wastes. In response to this need, AIST (Advance Industrial Science and Technology) in Japan has developed a first commercial plant for mass production of lactic acid polymer using a microwave heating. This method for synthesis of organic compounds and polymeric materials is expected to provide lot of advantages including substantial reduction both in reaction time and the amount of generated wastes in addition to its energy saving and low CO2 footprint. The institute has developed highly efficient techniques for producing organic compounds and polymeric materials through use of microwaves. Through this research lactic polymer is synthesized through condensation polymerization of lactic acid. Such reaction usually requires mineral acids such as tin compounds and sulfuric acids as catalysts and it is carried out at high temperature for an extended period of time due to the low reactivity of lactic acid, but AIST’s microwave irradiation for polymerization of lactic acid has resulted in a fast reaction without any needs for catalysts such as thin compounds and sulfuric acid. The fast reaction period is due to the fact that microwave efficiently heat the polar intermediates of the reaction. The lactic acid polymer produced through use of this method is targeted to be used for medical treatment and functional foods, making the quality control of the product extremely important. AIST is planning to extend the application of this technology to other synthesizing processes of various organic compounds and polymeric materials as well as distillation and extraction processes.
