Applications of Biodegradable Polymers for Fused Deposition Modeling 3D Printing

conference proceedings

English

Over the last several years additive manufacturing technologies, specially fused deposition modelling (FFM) has gained popularity in several industries including aerospace and defence, healthcare, automotive, electrical and electronics and even in households. It was estimated that the global 3D printing filament market generated revenue of USD 739 million in 2020. It is supposed that the outbreak of COVID-19 also contributed to diverse applications of 3D printed materials in the medical segment. One of the priorities of the 21st century is to develop and use such technologies and products that would systematically contribute to the improvement of the health of our planet and people. The principle of FDM is an extrusion of the molten filament and gradual deposition of layers and their solidification resulting in a 3D object. In order to meet the criteria for a green deal strategy, it is necessary to develop biobased and biodegradable filaments with physical properties required by individual industrial sectors. Our study aims in the biotechnological conversion of food waste into biodegradable polymers and biocomposites with applicability as a matrix material for filaments production. This work summarizes the applicability of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) as thermoplastics for FFM with respect to their thermal, rheological and mechanical properties. The fabrication of 3D models on the base of PLA is common but the use of PHAs is limited to the specific copolymers or blending with PLA [1]. The focus of our research is on the development and implementations of biodegradable and biocompatible filaments in the pharmaceutical and medical fields [2].

Polyhydroxyalkanoates; 3D printing; Polylactic acid

KOVALČÍK, A.

22. 6. 2021

Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ, USA

1

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