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      Poly(lactic Acid): A Versatile Biobased Polymer for the Future with Multifunctional Properties—From Monomer Synthesis, Polymerization Techniques and Molecular Weight Increase to PLA Applications

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          Abstract

          Environmental problems, such as global warming and plastic pollution have forced researchers to investigate alternatives for conventional plastics. Poly(lactic acid) (PLA), one of the well-known eco-friendly biodegradables and biobased polyesters, has been studied extensively and is considered to be a promising substitute to petroleum-based polymers. This review gives an inclusive overview of the current research of lactic acid and lactide dimer techniques along with the production of PLA from its monomers. Melt polycondensation as well as ring opening polymerization techniques are discussed, and the effect of various catalysts and polymerization conditions is thoroughly presented. Reaction mechanisms are also reviewed. However, due to the competitive decomposition reactions, in the most cases low or medium molecular weight (MW) of PLA, not exceeding 20,000–50,000 g/mol, are prepared. For this reason, additional procedures such as solid state polycondensation (SSP) and chain extension (CE) reaching MW ranging from 80,000 up to 250,000 g/mol are extensively investigated here. Lastly, numerous practical applications of PLA in various fields of industry, technical challenges and limitations of PLA use as well as its future perspectives are also reported in this review.

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          Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made

          We present the first ever global account of the production, use, and end-of-life fate of all plastics ever made by humankind.
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            Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices.

            A doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability both of food production and of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to society. Agriculturalists are the principal managers of global usable lands and will shape, perhaps irreversibly, the surface of the Earth in the coming decades. New incentives and policies for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystem services will be crucial if we are to meet the demands of improving yields without compromising environmental integrity or public health.
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              The global burden of pathogens and pests on major food crops

              Crop pathogens and pests reduce the yield and quality of agricultural production. They cause substantial economic losses and reduce food security at household, national and global levels. Quantitative, standardized information on crop losses is difficult to compile and compare across crops, agroecosystems and regions. Here, we report on an expert-based assessment of crop health, and provide numerical estimates of yield losses on an individual pathogen and pest basis for five major crops globally and in food security hotspots. Our results document losses associated with 137 pathogens and pests associated with wheat, rice, maize, potato and soybean worldwide. Our yield loss (range) estimates at a global level and per hotspot for wheat (21.5% (10.1-28.1%)), rice (30.0% (24.6-40.9%)), maize (22.5% (19.5-41.1%)), potato (17.2% (8.1-21.0%)) and soybean (21.4% (11.0-32.4%)) suggest that the highest losses are associated with food-deficit regions with fast-growing populations, and frequently with emerging or re-emerging pests and diseases. Our assessment highlights differences in impacts among crop pathogens and pests and among food security hotspots. This analysis contributes critical information to prioritize crop health management to improve the sustainability of agroecosystems in delivering services to societies.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: Academic Editor
                Journal
                Polymers (Basel)
                Polymers (Basel)
                polymers
                Polymers
                MDPI
                2073-4360
                31 May 2021
                June 2021
                : 13
                : 11
                : 1822
                Affiliations
                Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; euagelia226@ 123456gmail.com (E.B.); basdanil17@ 123456gmail.com (V.D.); geocar1997@ 123456gmail.com (G.K.); xkalamas@ 123456gmail.com (T.K.); myroforastefanidou@ 123456gmail.com (M.S.); nbikiaris@ 123456gmail.com (N.D.B.); antwnis97@ 123456gmail.com (A.V.); iwanna.koumentakou@ 123456gmail.com (I.K.)
                Author notes
                [* ]Correspondence: dbic@ 123456chem.auth.gr ; Tel.: +30-231-099-7812
                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1732-965X
                https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2685-4189
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8458-4952
                Article
                polymers-13-01822
                10.3390/polym13111822
                8198026
                34072917
                588fb6d4-d3a1-43a7-aff5-aee24fd7d18a
                © 2021 by the authors.

                Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

                History
                : 22 April 2021
                : 27 May 2021
                Categories
                Review

                poly(lactic acid),synthesis,melt polycondensation,ring opening polymerization,catalysts,solid state polymerization,chain extension,applications

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