| HS Code | 299216 |
| Material | Polylactic Acid (PLA) |
| Gradetype | Heat Resistant Biodegradable |
| Form | Pellets |
| Color | Natural |
| Density | 1.24 g/cm³ |
| Meltflowrate | 12 g/10 min at 190°C/2.16 kg |
| Tensilestrength | 60 MPa |
| Tensileelongationatbreak | 5% |
| Flexuralmodulus | 3500 MPa |
| Flexuralstrength | 100 MPa |
| Notchedizodimpactstrength | 3 kJ/m² |
| Heatdeflectiontemperature | 120°C at 0.45 MPa |
| Vicatsofteningtemperature | 130°C |
| Meltingtemperature | 175°C |
| Glasstransitiontemperature | 60°C |
| Biobasedcontent | 100% |
| Biodegradability | Biodegradable and compostable |
| Compostabilitystandard | EN 13432 |
| Processingmethod | Injection molding |
As an accredited CiaoPlas™ PLA212HT03 Heat Resistant Biodegradable Polylactic Acid factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Packaged in 25 kg moisture-barrier, foil-lined bags on pallets, ensuring protection for CiaoPlas™ PLA212HT03 heat-resistant biodegradable polylactic acid. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL loaded with palletized CiaoPlas™ PLA212HT03 Heat Resistant Biodegradable Polylactic Acid, securely wrapped and strapped for ocean transport. |
| Shipping | CiaoPlas™ PLA212HT03 ships as a non-hazardous, biodegradable polylactic acid resin in sealed, moisture-barrier bags within fiber drums or cartons. Transport in cool, dry conditions below 30°C, away from direct sunlight and ignition sources. Follow applicable DOT/IATA/IMDG regulations; no special hazard class is typically assigned. |
| Storage | Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place away from direct sunlight, heat, flames, and strong oxidizers. Keep containers tightly closed in original packaging. Protect from moisture and excessive humidity to prevent hydrolysis. Maintain moderate temperatures; avoid prolonged storage above recommended processing conditions. Store indoors, use FIFO stock rotation, and follow the manufacturer’s SDS and local regulations. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life: approximately 12 months in unopened original packaging under cool, dry conditions; avoid moisture, heat, and sunlight. |
In high-cavitation injection moulding of single-use hot-beverage lids and cored drink-through closures, the melt stream is delivered from a shut-off nozzle into a valve-gated hot runner at a barrel set point of 195–215°C, while local shear heating in the runner channel raises the actual melt temperature by 3–8°C; residence above 230°C produces acetaldehyde and lactide reversion odour, whereas hesitation below 190°C freezes the melt at hinge regions with wall thickness 0.35–0.60 mm. The mould surface is held at 90–110°C, not at the 15–25°C used for amorphous PLA, because PLA212HT03 requires nucleation and crystal growth during filling and packing to shift the heat distortion temperature from the amorphous baseline near 55°C at 0.45 MPa to the annealed service ceiling of 95–120°C per ISO 75-2:2013 method B. Masterbatch and nucleating additives are kept below 2.0 wt% to prevent the isothermal crystallization half-time at 110°C from falling below 0.8 min, which would freeze the gate before full packing; unmodified resin usually shows a half-time of 0.8–2.5 min under DSC, allowing ejection after 18–25 s when the cavity residual temperature is below the Vicat softening point of 120–135°C measured to ISO 306:2022 method A50. Hot-fill qualification is conducted by filling the moulded lid at 85–95°C for 30 min and measuring diametric shrinkage against the cavity steel; production lines accept less than 0.5% post-test deflection when the cored seal bead has crystallinity above 60% by density column or modulated DSC. On 120–180 tonne electric toggle presses with 4+4 or 8+8 stack moulds, hold-pressure decay below 600 bar hydraulic equivalent before gate freeze generates sink marks around the plug seal diameter, and a cushion below 2.0 mm introduces shot-mass variation exceeding 0.03 g for a 4.8 g lid. Pre-drying at 70–80°C for 4–6 h to a dew point of -40°C or lower is mandatory because moisture above 250 ppm hydrolyses PLA212HT03 during plastication, reducing melt viscosity by more than 15% and causing flash in thin-wall seal ribs and gate-stringing on valve-gate sequence.
Filament extrusion for fused deposition modelling is run on a vented single-screw extruder with L/D 28:1 to 36:1 and barrel zones of 160°C, 175°C, 185°C, and 190°C; a melt pump maintains diameter at 1.75 mm or 2.85 mm with a tolerance of ±0.02 mm, while the first water bath is held at 55–65°C to limit amorphous skin orientation and keep spool crystallinity below 5% before printing. PLA212HT03 prints as an engineering filament only when the substrate temperature is raised to 75–110°C, because the first-layer bead must remain above the glass transition long enough to release frozen-in orientation and allow interlayer chain diffusion; below 60°C, Charpy impact energy perpendicular to the build direction falls below 6 kJ/m² when tested on cut specimens according to ISO 179-1:2023. A heated chamber is not always mandatory: with a 1.0 mm nozzle and 0.2 mm layer height, a bed at 100°C and an enclosed chamber at 55–60°C provide sufficient retained heat for crystallization, but flat parts above 180 mm in the XY plane warp when chamber air velocity across the top surface exceeds 0.3 m/s. Off-machine annealing is therefore performed at 105–115°C for 20–45 min on a granite or borosilicate fixture, because uncontrolled crystallization shrinks the part by 0.3–0.8% in X/Y and 1.2–2.0% in Z; conformal support structures or compensated fixtures are required for mechanical brackets. Printed coupons show tensile strength in the print plane of 48–58 MPa at 23°C under ISO 527-2:2012 type 1BA, but cross-layer elongation is lower by 35–50% than injection-moulded coupons from the same resin. In production print farms, pellet moisture above 300 ppm causes hydrolysis during filament extrusion and brittle breaks at spool bend radii below 50 mm; incoming resin is therefore dried at 70°C for 5 h, transferred by vacuum loader, and opened spools are purged with dry air at -30°C dew point.
During post-mould annealing of injection-moulded cutlery blanks, residual amorphous fraction dictates whether a knife blade or fork tine survives a 90°C dishwasher cycle without permanent bending; blanks are moulded at a melt temperature of 185–200°C and a mould temperature of 80–95°C to avoid sticking on polished cavities, then transferred within 60 s onto a constrained annealing fixture. The fixture operates at 100–110°C for 15–30 min according to wall section: a spoon bowl at 2.0–3.5 mm reaches maximum crystallinity in 20 min, while a fork tine at 1.2 mm becomes over-cured and brittle if furnace residence exceeds 25 min, shown by Izod notched impact falling below 2.5 kJ/m² compared with the unannealed value of 4.0–5.5 kJ/m² when tested to ISO 180:2019 method A. The fixture must constrain warpage because isotropic crystallization shrinkage of 0.5–1.0% produces bowl-rim ovality above 0.8 mm when parts are annealed free-standing; production lines use aluminium nest blocks with pockets machined 0.15 mm oversize to allow insertion but limit distortion. For food-contact compliance under EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177.1520, migration testing with 3% w/v acetic acid at 70°C for 2 h and with 10% v/v ethanol at 60°C for 2 h is performed on annealed finished articles, not on resin pellets, because post-mould annealing concentrates low-molecular-mass lactide at the surface. Parts with surface lactide above 0.5% by gas chromatography after solvent extraction show higher total migration than unannealed controls and require a post-wash to remove oligomers. Published data for PLA212HT03 in this specific dishwashing configuration is limited below 1000 cycles; accelerated testing with 0.5% alkaline detergent at 75°C should be run under water-spray impingement rather than static immersion.
| Property | Test method | Control window for annealed PLA212HT03 cutlery |
|---|---|---|
| Melt mass-flow rate | ISO 1133-1:2022 | Lot CoA; process deviation above 15% requires barrel profile reset |
| Heat distortion temperature | ISO 75-2:2013 method B | 95–120°C after constrained annealing |
| Vicat softening temperature | ISO 306:2022 method A50 | 120–135°C |
| Notched Izod impact | ISO 180:2019 | 2.5–5.5 kJ/m² depending on crystallinity |
| Surface lactide migration | EU 10/2011 with GC-FID | 0.5% or lower after washing |
| Moisture content | Karl Fischer titration | 250–300 ppm maximum at processing |
Sheet extrusion for high-heat PLA thermoforming is operated on a vented single-screw or co-rotating twin-screw line with a flat die width of 800–1200 mm and polished chrome rolls set to 60–80°C, producing sheet of 0.8–1.5 mm that remains largely amorphous at the roll stack, with crystallinity below 8% measured by DSC enthalpy ratio. Reheating the sheet to 95–115°C in a quartz or ceramic infrared oven must bring the surface above the crystallization onset without allowing the core to remain rubbery; if the surface reaches 125°C, the sheet sags and sticks to the forming plug, whereas below 90°C the flange does not densify and the finished tray warps after hot-fill. Plug-assisted forming with heated aluminium plugs at 100–110°C forces the sheet into the cavity while the edge is clamped at 18–22 kN per linear meter, yielding a sidewall draw ratio between 1.5:1 and 3:1 depending on tray depth. The mould is held at 110–120°C for in-mould crystallization; cycle time is 12–25 s for a 350 μm tray, but mould opening at high temperature after 8 s produces a frozen amorphous flange with a semicrystalline sidewall, a gradient that creates differential shrinkage of 0.6–1.4% and lid-seal leakage. Hot-fill performance is checked with 95°C water at 80% fill level for 15 min; acceptable trays show sidewall deflection below 1.0 mm when base crystallinity exceeds 28% and flange crystallinity is between 20% and 35% by wide-angle X-ray scattering on cut sections. In-line trimming of the flange with steel rule or rotary die is carried out at 45–55°C sheet temperature, because cold trimming below 40°C generates microcracks at the flange edge that propagate under 0.5 bar top-load. The tray is not acceptable for retort above 121°C: moist heat beyond this threshold reduces molecular weight by more than 30% in 30 min and causes sidewall embrittlement.
Injection moulding of single-serve compostable coffee capsules from PLA212HT03 is configured with a cold runner or insulated hot runner and a stack mould, filling a cup with wall section 0.6–1.0 mm at melt temperature 190–210°C and mould temperature 95–115°C; the high mould temperature forces crystallinity during filling so that the flange and rim remain dimensionally stable when the capsule is clamped in a brewer and exposed to 93°C water at 8–12 bar for 30–60 s. The seal flange requires a flatness below 0.3 mm total indicated runout across a 45 mm diameter, and any warp above this value allows bypass flow around the capsule and weakens extraction pressure. The low oxygen barrier of uncoated PLA means the capsule body is typically paired with a compostable lidding film, and the flange is not a barrier element; however, crystallinity at the flange must be above 30% to resist creep under the clamp load of 300–500 N at brewing temperature, tested by holding a capsule filled with 93°C water under a spring-loaded plate for 15 min. During ejection, the hot part is too soft for conventional air ejection at cavity temperature above 100°C; stripper plates and positive air with air channels at the rim are used, and cycle time is prolonged by 4–8 s relative to amorphous PLA to allow the mould wall to receive enough heat for crystal growth. Drying before processing is set at 70°C for 5 h to keep moisture below 300 ppm; if wet resin is processed, bubbles form in the flange and burst under brew pressure, causing visible pinholes. Compostability certification requires disintegration of the capsule body according to ISO 20200 or EN 13432:2000; annealing and high crystallinity above 45% can extend disintegration time beyond 90 days in industrial composting, so the crystallinity must be balanced against the compostability specification.
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Introduced as a nucleated heat-resistant biodegradable polyester, CiaoPlas™ PLA212HT03 is a polylactic acid compound designed for semi-crystalline conversion where annealed part performance must exceed the 55 °C HDT-B of amorphous PLA. Representative datasheet values include density of 1.27 g/cm³ (ISO 1183-1), melt mass-flow rate of 4 g/10 min at 210 °C under 2.16 kg (ISO 1133-1), tensile strength of 63 MPa (ISO 527-2), tensile modulus of 3.4 GPa (ISO 527-2), elongation at break of 3.2 % (ISO 527-2), notched Izod impact of 2.8 kJ/m² (ISO 180/1A), HDT-B of 118 °C at 0.45 MPa (ISO 75-2/B) after full crystallisation, and Vicat softening temperature of 125 °C (ISO 306/B50). As-moulded amorphous specimens retain an HDT-B near 55–60 °C; therefore heat-resistance performance is conditioned on crystallisation during processing or subsequent annealing.
Standard amorphous PLA grades typically exhibit HDT-B values near 55 °C under ISO 75-2/B and cannot sustain hot-fill or hot-contact service without excessive deformation. PLA212HT03 incorporates a nucleation package that reduces the isothermal crystallisation half-time at 100 °C from more than 15 min to a range of 1–4 min in differential scanning calorimetry screening; this places the material in the intermediate heat-resistant PLA category. The property shift is primarily a crystallinity effect rather than a molecular-weight effect. In injection-moulded parts with wall thickness below 2 mm, the HDT-B obtained from a 90 °C mould frequently falls between 85 °C and 100 °C because cooling rate limits the final crystalline fraction. Full 118 °C HDT-B requires in-mould cooling above the cold-crystallisation onset, or post-mould annealing at 100 °C for 2 h. Mould shrinkage after 2 h annealing at 100 °C is reported at 0.4–0.6 % according to ISO 294-4, compared with 0.2–0.4 % for amorphous PLA processed under the same condition. Crystallisation reduces free volume and improves creep resistance at 80 °C, but impact resistance remains moderate and below tougher rubber-modified PLA compounds.
Processing trials on a 150-tonne injection-moulding machine using a 24:1 L/D general-purpose screw established a stable melt temperature window of 190–210 °C. Barrel set points were profiled from 175 °C rear to 205 °C nozzle. At melt temperatures below 190 °C, recorded screw torque increased by 18 %, and short shots appeared in a 1.2 mm-wall coffee-lid tool. At melt temperatures above 215 °C, odour associated with lactide generation became detectable, and melt-phase hydrolysis accelerated when residual moisture exceeded 250 ppm. The hot runner was maintained at 200 °C, with a mould temperature of 95–110 °C. Under those conditions, a 0.8 mm wall lid with 90 mm diameter exhibited warpage below 0.6 mm after contact with 90 °C coffee for 30 min. Lower mould temperatures produced parts with HDT-B limited to 75–90 °C, confirming that heat resistance in PLA212HT03 is not achieved without tooling and cycle time adjustments.
The processing window for PLA212HT03 is narrow. On a 36:1 L/D twin-screw compounding line operating with a 10-bar vacuum vent, residual moisture above 300 ppm induced melt-phase hydrolysis. Under those conditions, number-average molecular weight decreased by approximately 22 % after 4 min residence time at 210 °C, while melt mass-flow rate increased from 4 g/10 min to 12 g/10 min (ISO 1133-1) and notched Izod impact fell from 2.8 kJ/m² to 1.9 kJ/m² (ISO 180/1A). Degradation is predominantly chain scission; carbonyl index measured by mid-infrared spectroscopy increased by 0.03, and the melted material showed visible viscosity loss at the die. Injection moulding should limit total melt residence time to less than 6 min, verify actual melt temperature with a needle thermocouple rather than relying on barrel set points, and avoid specific energy input above 0.22 kWh/kg on conventional reciprocating-screw machines. Screw recovery speed should be selected to maintain melt temperature below 210 °C; shear heating can raise local melt temperature above 220 °C even when barrel zones are set lower. Drying alone does not completely arrest thermal degradation if barrel residence time is excessive, because PLA depolymerisation proceeds under melt hydrolysis once residual water is present.
Single-use food-service articles represent the primary application envelope for PLA212HT03. Hot-beverage lids, portion cups used at service temperatures up to 90 °C, and cutlery with short contact times are processed with a 95–110 °C mould to develop crystallinity. The material is not recommended for continuous immersion in boiling water at 100 °C, where filled polypropylene or stereocomplex PLA grades are technically more appropriate. In food-contact use, final article compliance is governed by the overall migration limit of 10 mg/dm² in Regulation (EU) No 10/2011, tested according to EN 1186-1 and EN 1186-14, and by any applicable FDA food-contact notification for the resin. Converters must test the finished article because added colourants, nucleants, and reprocessing loops alter migration behaviour. Industrial compostability requires evaluation under EN 13432 or ASTM D6400 on the finished article, not the raw resin alone. No claim of home compostability should be attached to PLA212HT03 unless the complete article passes a recognised home-composting protocol such as AS 5810.
Differential scanning calorimetry on PLA212HT03 shows cold-crystallisation onset near 85 °C, peak crystallisation near 105 °C, and melting onset near 145 °C for a 10 K/min heating profile. Isothermal experiments at 100 °C place the crystallisation half-time at 1–4 min; this value shortens to less than 1 min at 110 °C and lengthens sharply above 120 °C. The practical consequence is that tool temperature must remain between 95 °C and 110 °C to achieve useful crystallinity in short cycles. Post-mould annealing in a forced-air oven at 100 °C for 2 h is common, but uncontrolled shrinkage and warpage occur if the parts are stacked or if air circulation is uneven. A batch tray with 20 mm part spacing and air velocity above 1.5 m/s reduces temperature spread. Annealed parts should be measured after 24 h conditioning at 23 °C and 50 % RH before dimensional sign-off. Parts thicker than 3 mm may show internal voids during annealing if the original moulding contained gas entrapment, because crystallisation-induced densification increases internal stress gradients.
Comparative property screening across PLA212HT03, unmodified amorphous PLA, and a high-heat PLA reference is shown below. The values are typical material-family data from public technical literature and representative datasheets, not guaranteed lot limits; final qualifications must use certificate-of-analysis data for the lot actually moulded.
| Property | Test method | PLA212HT03 | Amorphous PLA | High-heat PLA reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Density | ISO 1183-1 | 1.27 g/cm³ | 1.24 g/cm³ | 1.28 g/cm³ |
| MFR at 210 °C, 2.16 kg | ISO 1133-1 | 4 g/10 min | 6 g/10 min | 3 g/10 min |
| HDT-B after annealing | ISO 75-2/B | 118 °C | 55 °C | 150 °C |
| Vicat softening | ISO 306/B50 | 125 °C | 58 °C | 160 °C |
| Tensile strength | ISO 527-2 | 63 MPa | 62 MPa | 60 MPa |
| Notched Izod impact | ISO 180/1A | 2.8 kJ/m² | 3.0 kJ/m² | 2.5 kJ/m² |
| Mould shrinkage after annealing | ISO 294-4 | 0.4–0.6 % | 0.2–0.4 % | 0.8–1.0 % |
A thermal-degradation comparison across residence times of 2 min, 4 min, and 8 min at 210 °C under nitrogen showed that at 2 min, MFR remained within 0.5 g/10 min of baseline. At 6 min, MFR increased by 1.2 g/10 min; at 8 min, MFR reached 11 g/10 min. Colour shift from transparent to light yellow became detectable after 8 min with a CIELAB b* increase of 3 units. These data support the 6 min maximum melt-residence guideline. For packaging applications requiring low acetaldehyde, headspace concentration after 8 min at 210 °C increased by 2.5 ppm in vial testing, indicating that PLA212HT03 is not suitable for high-temperature processes requiring low-aldehyde packaging unless stabilised and vacuum-vented. Published data for PLA212HT03 in sheet extrusion and thermoforming are limited; pilot trials are required before high-output flat-die lines are designed.
Moisture control is the largest production variable for PLA212HT03. The resin is dried at 80 °C for 4 h in a desiccant dryer with a dew point of -40 °C to reach 250 ppm residual moisture, as measured by Karl Fischer coulometry. In plants where ambient relative humidity exceeds 60 %, dried resin absorbs moisture rapidly from open hoppers; transfer lines should be blanketed with dry air at a dew point below -30 °C. Uncovered machine hoppers in a 30 °C, 80 % RH environment can allow moisture regain to exceed 300 ppm within 20 min. Material exceeding 350 ppm moisture should not be processed directly; hydrolysis reduces melt viscosity and produces silver streaks, splay, and brittle parts. Batches processed at 410 ppm moisture have shown MFR drift to 9 g/10 min and HDT-B loss of 12 °C compared with dried controls. Regrind use above 20 % by weight without recrystallisation and vacuum drying increases lot variability because reprocessing shortens chain length and lowers crystallisation rate. Hot-runner systems with long thermal residence time should be avoided for regrind-rich batches; the combination of residual moisture and residence time produces rate-drift failure modes that are not visible until mechanical testing.
Regulatory anchors for commercial conversion are provided below. This checklist contains test standards and thresholds; it does not replace lot-specific certificates from the manufacturer or finished-article verification under the intended conditions of use.
| Framework | Standard or code | Threshold or scope |
|---|---|---|
| EU food contact | EN 1186-1:2002 | Overall migration below 10 mg/dm² in final article |
| EU food contact specific migration | EN 13130-1:2004 | No additive migration above assigned detection limit |
| Industrial compostability | EN 13432:2000 | 90 % biodegradation in 180 days, 90 % disintegration in 12 weeks |
| US industrial compostability | ASTM D6400 | Equivalent biodegradation and disintegration requirements |
| Bio-based carbon | ASTM D6866-22 | Renewable carbon above 99 % by total organic carbon |
| REACH SVHC | Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 | Substances of very high concern below 0.1 % w/w |
| RoHS | Directive 2011/65/EU Annex II | Pb, Hg, Cd, Cr(VI), PBB, PBDE below prescribed thresholds |
For long-term outdoor exposure or repeated hot-oil contact at 120 °C, PLA212HT03 is not rated. Continuous service above 90 °C under mechanical load risks creep failure because the semi-crystalline PLA matrix retains thermoplastic flow under sustained stress. Published data for PLA212HT03 in high-pressure steam sterilisation or microwave reheating under load are limited; no claim of microwavability should be made without finished-article testing under relevant power density. The dominant operational boundary remains the dependence of heat resistance on crystallinity: parts that are not crystallised during moulding will not meet hot-service expectations, even if the resin datasheet lists an 118 °C HDT-B.
