PLA to be made from poo. Nature Works just got $2.5 million in funding from the US department of energy to develop bio methane to lactic acid conversion technology; lactic acid being the main building block of PLA. Bio methane is derived from organic matter such as animal manure, sewage, and municipal solid waste. Poop is interesting: [youtu.be] https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431524#msg-431524 Mon, 18 May 2026 05:33:13 -0400 Phorum 5.2.23 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432504#msg-432504 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432504#msg-432504 Radioman General Sat, 15 Nov 2014 05:53:16 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432386#msg-432386 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432386#msg-432386 biomassmagazine.com]

Apparently, they've already done test a batch and they're going to begin production in 2-3 years. I think it'll probrably be a much better process than what they're doing now. People think if it's made out of corn, it must be eco friendly. But how eco friendly is PLA really?

Corn needs fertilizers and insecticides which are made from petrochemicals. Then there's the diesel to run the harvesters and the trucks to get it to the plant. Not to mention the land and water usage. Plus the processing plant that probrably runs on coal or natural gas. That's why ethanol never took off. It takes 1.3 gallons of oil to make 1 gallon of ethanol. But, it's all about marketing.

And really, what's $2.5 million? They'll make it back in taxes from Nature Works if they pump out more PLA.]]> DisruptiveTech General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 18:37:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432315#msg-432315 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432315#msg-432315
(Just can't resist a combined Poop pun and Government spending combo)]]> dclarkm General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:02:52 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432310#msg-432310 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432310#msg-432310
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dave3d
Explains why my prints are often crap.
XD]]> isonoob General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:57:22 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432304#msg-432304 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432304#msg-432304 dave3d General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:34:16 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432288#msg-432288 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432288#msg-432288
Headline: "US government spends millions searching for a way to sell its citizens their own feces."]]> Feign General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:48:48 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432099#msg-432099 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,432099#msg-432099
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DisruptiveTech
I wouldn't worry about plastic being biodegradable. Eventually, through natural selection or genitic engineering, microbes will evolve to eat plastics. There's a smorgasbord of high energy hydrocarbons just floating around in the ocean and in landfills waiting to be exploited.

Just wait until those microbes escape from the laboratory and eat all the plastics in your house. Your synthetic clothes will just droop from your body and your phones, bracelets, everything will just disintegrate slowly ;) haha. Would be quite funny if that could happen. Imagine me typing this message on my keyboard, while it slowly just gets eaten away from under mmmy fnnrgs.....]]> Ohmarinus General Fri, 14 Nov 2014 04:31:02 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431971#msg-431971 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431971#msg-431971 DisruptiveTech General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 17:47:56 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431909#msg-431909 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431909#msg-431909
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DisruptiveTech
If they can make it out of bio methane, they can make it out of regular methane (natural gas). But if they started making PLA out of fossil fuels, I'd imagine it would hurt PLA's image as eco friendly, even though it'd still be biodegradable.

It's not really biodegradable by nature anyway. Only if processed. I like to say it's Biobased.

What's really biodegradable to me? Stuff like Glycix!!! B) Check it out here: [www.biobasedpress.eu]]]> Ohmarinus General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:27:30 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431862#msg-431862 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431862#msg-431862
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DisruptiveTech
If they can make it out of bio methane, they can make it out of regular methane (natural gas). But if they started making PLA out of fossil fuels, I'd imagine it would hurt PLA's image as eco friendly, even though it'd still be biodegradable.

Good point you got there.
We're all living in an era that constantly looking for new source of energy.
If they're able to extract bio methane, it would be a breakthrough. A better future for all of us.]]> botfeeder General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:30:10 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431856#msg-431856 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431856#msg-431856 DisruptiveTech General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 13:23:00 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431825#msg-431825 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431825#msg-431825 But it's very environmental friendly.]]> botfeeder General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 12:09:48 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431694#msg-431694 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431694#msg-431694 vreihen General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 06:54:03 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431688#msg-431688 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431688#msg-431688
However, it of course, is nonsense to state that it is 'made from poo'. There are so many refinements made to the materials they can hardly be qualified as being 'made from poo' :)]]> Ohmarinus General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 06:47:32 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431685#msg-431685 Re: PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431685#msg-431685 isonoob General Thu, 13 Nov 2014 06:29:41 -0500 https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431524#msg-431524 PLA to be made from poo. https://reprap.org/forum/read.php?1,431524,431524#msg-431524 youtu.be]]]> DisruptiveTech General Wed, 12 Nov 2014 17:15:48 -0500