Recycling of 3D Printable Thermoplastic Cellulose-Composite

Kirsi Immonen, Sini Metsä-Kortelainen, Juha Nurmio, Amélie Tribot, Tuomas Turpeinen, Atte Mikkelson, Tomi Kalpio, Otto-Ville Kaukoniemi and Heli Kangas
Additional contact information
Kirsi Immonen: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Sini Metsä-Kortelainen: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Juha Nurmio: Brinter Oy, FI-20520 Turku, Finland
Amélie Tribot: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Tuomas Turpeinen: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Atte Mikkelson: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Tomi Kalpio: Brinter Oy, FI-20520 Turku, Finland
Otto-Ville Kaukoniemi: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland
Heli Kangas: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd., FI-02044 Espoo, Finland

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: 3D printing enables sustainable product innovations through novel design, reduced use of materials, and local manufacturing. Sustainable 3D printing can further be realized using recyclable materials. Cellulose is an abundantly available renewable material. Modified celluloses, such as thermoplastic cellulose esters, are widely used in injection molding applications. The aim of this research was to study the properties of a cellulose-based composite (cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) polymer matrix with 20 wt. % microcellulose) in injection molding and granular extrusion-based 3D printing processes over multiple recycles. The impact of the processing methods on the composite’s properties were investigated. Both injection molded and 3D printed samples were ground with plastic grinding mill to particle sizes below 3 mm after each preparation stage and reused as such in the next process cycle. Morphology, mechanical and thermal properties, and material degradation were analyzed. The thermoplastic cellulose-based compound was found to be directly recyclable for both processes without the need for any additional compounding steps. The polymer matrix was able to withstand at least seven processing cycles without degradation. However, microcellulose was found to be more sensitive to thermal stress. The mechanical and thermal properties of the cellulose-based composites remained close to initial levels throughout.

Keywords: 3D printing; cellulose; recycling; thermoplastic; cellulose-composite; cellulose acetate propionate; granulate printing; injection molding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2734/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/5/2734/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:5:p:2734-:d:759012

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().