# Lactic acid and PLA

Lactic acid is fermented from sugar; polymerised, it becomes PLA, the largest compostable bioplastic, worth about $2 billion and costing roughly double fossil plastics.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/

Bio-based chemicals · Fermentation products · No. 110

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- PLA: not published by the sources reached; a few hundred kt a year, within 1.67 Mt of all bioplastics produced in 2025 (European Bioplastics). Lactic acid: about 1-2 Mt a year (indicative)
- 0.6 t CO₂e per t
- HS 291811, 390770
 Bio-based chemicals · Fermentation products · Foundation · Matter

Bacteria that sour milk can also make a plastic cup that composts, starting from a bowl of sugar.

Chart: Illustration: Lactic acid and PLA

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Bacteria ferment sugar into lactic acid, which is turned into a ring-shaped lactide and strung into PLA; each tonne needs about 1.5-1.7 t of sugar.

##### Three things to know

1. All bioplastics together were only about 0.5% of the 431 Mt of plastics made in 2025.
2. Balrampur Chini is building an 80 kt a year PLA plant in Uttar Pradesh for Rs 2,850 crore.
3. PLA softens at about 55-60 C unless crystallised, which rules it out for hot drinks without extra treatment.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Crop**Cane, maize or cassava supplies the sugar
2. 2 **Fermentation**Bacteria turn glucose into L-lactic acid
3. 3 **Lactide**Purified acid cracked into a ring monomer
4. 4 **Polymerisation**Ring-opening makes PLA pellets
5. 5 **Products**Cups, films, tea bags, 3D-printing filament
 Covered in [The chemical industry: what it makes and how it is organisedChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/chem-industry-map/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/lactic_acid_pla/links/index.md)