A new separation and purification method for lactic acid from fermentation broth is proposed, by which poly-lactic acid produced from unpurified lactic acid is catalytically depolymerized into lactide fraction, then further purified into lactide. In the present study, thermal depolymerization catalysts were investigated for commercial use. Iron catalysts, especially metallic iron, and ferrous oxide and lactate, were found to provide almost the same catalytic activity and lactide composition in depolymerization products and those in tin octoate and antimony oxide catalysts. Ferrous oxide was also applied to depolymerize poly-lactic acid derived form unpurified lactic acid to compare catalytic activity and lactide composition and was confirmed to show results similar to those of pure polymer. Based on these findings, it is concluded that iron catalysts can be used commercially. Furthermore, catalytic depolymerization of poly-lactic acids with different molecular weights were studied. Polymers with Mw 5,000-10,000 were found to be better for production of lactide, based on the behaviour of depolymerization and lactide content in the product.