Catalytic Cracking of Lactide and Poly(Lactic Acid) to Acrylic Acid at Low Temperatures

• Published in: ChemSusChem Vol. 10; no. 9; pp. 1904 - 1908
• Main Authors: Terrade, Frédéric G., van Krieken, Jan, Verkuijl, Bastiaan J. V., Bouwman, Elisabeth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 09.05.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Acids; Acrylates - chemical synthesis; Acrylates - chemistry; Acrylic acid; Acrylics; biobased economy; Bromides; Catalysis; Catalytic cracking; Chlorides; Cold Temperature; Communication; Communications; Dehydration; lactic acid; Lactic Acid - chemistry; Low temperature; Polyesters - chemistry; Polylactic acid; renewable resources; sustainable chemistry; lactic acid; sustainable chemistry; renewable resources; acrylic acid; biobased economy
• ISSN: 1864-5631; 1864-564X
• DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201700108

Despite being a simple dehydration reaction, the industrially relevant conversion of lactic acid to acrylic acid is particularly challenging. For the first time, the catalytic cracking of lactide and poly(lactic acid) to acrylic acid under mild conditions is reported with up to 58 % yield. This transformation is catalyzed by strong acids in the presence of bromide or chloride salts and proceeds through simple SN2 and elimination reactions. Sweet diapers! A radical new and efficient synthetic method is presented, which converts lactide to acrylic acid in a convenient one‐pot/one‐step process. Acrylic acid is a highly valued chemical and a starting material for superabsorbent polymers (SAPs), which finds their prime application in diapers. The technique presented here is an important step towards full biobased SAPs and turns lactide into a key platform chemical in the biobased arena.