A review on degradation mechanisms of polylactic acid: Hydrolytic, photodegradative, microbial, and enzymatic degradation

Abstract Recently, thoughtful disagreements between scientists concerning environmental issues including the use of renewable materials have enhanced universal awareness of the use of biodegradable materials. Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most promising biodegradable materials for commercially replacing nondegradable materials such as polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene. The main advantages of PLA production over the conventional plastic materials is PLA can be produced from renewable resources such as corn or other carbohydrate sources. Besides, PLA provides adequate energy saving by consuming CO 2 during production. Thus, we aim to highlight recent research involving the investigation of…