Prototype Pultrusion of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Plastic Bottles into Filament for 3D Eco-Printing: Education for a Sustainable Development Project

Ginés Morales Méndez (), Alicia del Cerro Pérez () and Francisco del Cerro Velázquez
Additional contact information
Ginés Morales Méndez: Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, 5, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Alicia del Cerro Pérez: Faculty of Education, University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, 5, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Francisco del Cerro Velázquez: Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, 5, Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-17

Abstract: In light of mounting environmental concerns surrounding the overuse and accumulation of plastic waste, the United Nations (UN) has turned its attention towards sustainable materials and the Circular Economy (CE). Polymer recycling technologies have the potential to reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint of plastic waste production, thereby contributing to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In response to this challenge, students enrolled in the fourth year of secondary education, specializing in technology, during the 2021–2022 academic year, developed an open-source prototype that automatically transforms polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into recycled rPET filament for 3D printing using an automated pultrusion model. In this working group, one of the students identified as gifted developed the pultrusion prototype using challenge-based learning and the project method (PM), which is now known as project-based learning. The resulting prototype has the capacity to transform PET bottles into rPET filament with mechanical properties comparable to those of commercial filaments, thereby enabling the manufacture of a wide range of products through 3D printing. It is not the intention of this work to create a commercial product. Rather, it is designed to promote social and sustainable entrepreneurship, CE, and the values of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through the recycling of polymers by means of 3D printing production. In addition, it seeks to develop the key competences for sustainability described in the methodological framework established by UNESCO in 2017.

Keywords: PET; pultrusion; recycling; 3D printing; SDG; gifted student; challenge-based learning; project method; project-based learning; ESD (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8347/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/19/8347/ (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:16:y:2024:i:19:p:8347-:d:1485753

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 ().