Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Development and characterization of sustainable 3D printing filaments using post-consumer recycled PET: processing and characterization

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Polymer Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In recent times, FDM technology has been extensively utilized to reuse small-scale thermoplastic waste materials to produce 3D-printed structures for various engineering applications. However, recycled material such as PET (i.e., waste from beverage bottling) for 3D printing is less explored because of poor mechanical properties due to possible thermal degradation, uncontrolled crystallinity, and shrinkage issues during high fusion temperatures. Hence, the aim of this study is to develop high-quality filament from PET waste for 3D printing purpose. This study involves the investigation of rheological, chemical, thermal, and mechanical behavior of PET filaments produced by different grades of PET plastic waste. The results indicated that filament made from recycled PET (RPET) water bottles and RPET soda bottles have comparable results with virgin PET (VPET) filament samples. The tensile modulus, yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and tensile strain at break for RPET water bottle and RPET soda bottle made filament are 1932.78 MPa, 47.51 MPa, 52.44 MPa, and 98.86%; and 2009.66 MPa, 43.08 MPa, 46.08 MPa, and 7.46%, respectively. The novel filament produced from PET plastic waste has the capability to replace VPET filaments for fabricating high-quality structural parts through an additive manufacturing approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

All the data required are available within the manuscript.

References

  1. Soong YHV, Sobkowicz MJ, Xie D (2022) Recent Advances in Biological Recycling of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Plastic Wastes. Bioengineering 9(3):1–27. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9030098

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ahmed T et al (2018) Biodegradation of plastics: current scenario and future prospects for environmental safety. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(8):7287–7298. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1234-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mishra V, Negi S, Kar S (2023) FDM-based additive manufacturing of recycled thermoplastics and associated composites. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25(2):758–784. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01588-2

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Mishra V, Negi S, Kar S, Sharma AK, Rajbahadur YNK, Kumar A (2022) Recent advances in fused deposition modeling based additive manufacturing of thermoplastic composite structures: A review. J Thermoplast Compos Mater 36(7):3094–3132. https://doi.org/10.1177/08927057221102857

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stevenson L, Nodet C (2023) Managing plastic waste: Opportunities for Asia-Pacific leadership. The Sustainability Institute by ERM

  6. PlasticsEurope (PEMRG) (2023) Share of global plastic materials produced in Asia from 2014 to 2019. Stat Res Dept. https://www.statista.com. Accessed on 8 May 2023

  7. Ng CH et al (2023) Plastic waste and microplastic issues in Southeast Asia. Front Environ Sci 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1142071

  8. United Nations Environment Programme (2021) From Pollution to Solution: A global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution. Nairobi. https://www.unep.org/. Accessed on 8 May 2023

  9. Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (2019) Plastic Waste Management Practices- Issues, solutions & case studies. https://www.swachhbharaturban.gov.in. Accessed on 8 May 2023

  10. Webb HK, Arnott J, Crawford RJ, Ivanova EP (2013) Plastic degradation and its environmental implications with special reference to poly(ethylene terephthalate). Polymers (Basel) 5(1):1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym5010001

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hopewell J, Dvorak R, Kosior E (2009) Plastics recycling: Challenges and opportunities. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 364(1526):2115–2126. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0311

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Torres N, Robin JJ, Boutevin B (2000) Study of thermal and mechanical properties of virgin and recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) before and after injection molding. Eur Polym J 36(10):2075–2080. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0014-3057(99)00301-8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Viana JC, Alves NM, Mano JF (2004) Morphology and mechanical properties of injection molded poly(ethylene terephthalate). Polym Eng Sci 44(12):2174–2184. https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.20245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Mishra V, Ror CK, Negi S, Kar S, Borah LN (2023) Development of sustainable 3D printing filaments using recycled/virgin ABS blends: Processing and characterization. Polym Eng Sci 63(7):1890–1899. https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.26330

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gwamuri J, Wittbrodt BT, Anzalone NC, Pearce JM (2014) Reversing the trend of large scale and centralization in manufacturing: The case of distributed manufacturing of customizable 3-D-printable self-adjustable glasses. Challenges Sustain 2(1). https://doi.org/10.12924/cis2014.02010030

  16. Woern AL, McCaslin JR, Pringle AM, Pearce JM (2018) RepRapable Recyclebot: Open source 3-D printable extruder for converting plastic to 3-D printing filament. HardwareX 4:e00026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2018.e00026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Petersen E, Kidd R, Pearce J (2017) Impact of DIY home manufacturing with 3D printing on the toy and game market. Technologies 5(3):45. https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5030045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Petersen E, Pearce J (2017) Emergence of home manufacturing in the developed world: Return on investment for open-source 3-D printers. Technologies 5(1):7. https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5010007

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wittbrodt BT et al (2013) Life-cycle economic analysis of distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printers. Mechatronics 23(6):713–726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechatronics.2013.06.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Laplume AO, Petersen B, Pearce JM (2016) Global value chains from a 3D printing perspective. J Int Bus Stud 47(5):595–609. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2015.47

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Woern AL, Byard DJ, Oakley RB, Fiedler MJ, Snabes SL, Pearce JM (2018) Fused particle fabrication 3-D printing: Recycled materials’ optimization and mechanical properties. Materials (Basel) 11(8):1413. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081413

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Alexandre A, Cruz Sanchez FA, Boudaoud H, Camargo M, Pearce JM (2020) Mechanical properties of direct waste printing of polylactic acid with universal pellets extruder: Comparison to fused filament fabrication on open-source desktop three-dimensional printers. 3D Print Addit Manuf 7(5):237–247. https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2019.0195

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Cruz F, Lanza S, Boudaoud H, Hoppe S, Camargo M (2020) Polymer recycling and additive manufacturing in an open source context: Optimization of processes and methods. Proc Ann Int Solid Free Fabr Symp - An Addit Manuf Conf SFF 1591–1600

  24. Anderson I (2017) Mechanical properties of specimens 3D printed with virgin and recycled polylactic acid. 3D Print Addit Manuf 4(2):110–115. https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2016.0054

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Jukka Pakkanen LI, Manfred Diego, Minetol Paolo (2017) About the use of recycled or biodegradable filaments for sustainability of 3D printing state of the art and research opportunities. SDM Sustain Des Manuf 1:776–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57078-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Mohammed MI, Wilson D, Gomez-Kervin E, Vidler C, Rosson L, Long J (2020) The recycling of E-Waste ABS plastics by melt extrusion and 3D printing using solar powered devices as a transformative tool for humanitarian aid. Solid Free Fabr Proc Ann Int Solid Free Fabr Symp - An Addit Manuf Conf SFF 80–92

  27. Chong S, Mohammad GP, Thomas K (2016) Physical characterization and pre-assessment of recycled high-density polyethylene as 3D printing material. J Polym Environ. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-016-0793-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Baechler C, Devuono M, Pearce JM (2013) Distributed recycling of waste polymer into RepRap feedstock. Rapid Prototyp J 19(2):118–125. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552541311302978

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Woern A, Pearce J (2017) Distributed manufacturing of flexible products: Technical feasibility and economic viability. Technologies 5(4):71. https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies5040071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Mohammed MI, Wilson D, Gomez-Kervin E, Rosson L, Long J (2019) EcoPrinting: Investigation of solar powered plastic recycling and additive manufacturing for enhanced waste management and sustainable manufacturing. IEEE Conf Technol Sustain SusTech 2018:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/SusTech.2018.8671370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Charles A, Bassan PM, Mueller T, Elkaseer A, Scholz SG (2019) On the assessment of thermo-mechanical degradability of multi-recycled ABS polymer for 3D printing applications. Smart Innov Syst Technol 155:363–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9271-9_30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Little HA, Tanikella NG, Reich MJ, Fiedler MJ, Snabes SL, Pearce JM (2020) Towards distributed recycling with additive manufacturing of PET flake feedstocks. Materials (Basel) 13(19):4273. https://doi.org/10.3390/MA13194273

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Bakır AA, Atik R, Özerinç S (2021) Effect of fused deposition modeling process parameters on the mechanical properties of recycled polyethylene terephthalate parts. J Appl Polym Sci 138(3):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.49709

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Zander NE, Gillan M, Lambeth RH (2018) Recycled polyethylene terephthalate as a new FFF feedstock material. Addit Manuf 21(January):174–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2018.03.007

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Oussai A, Bártfai Z, Kátai L (2021) Development of 3d printing raw materials from plastic waste. A case study on recycled polyethylene terephthalate. Appl Sci 11(16):7338. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Bustos Seibert M, Mazzei Capote GA, Gruber M, Volk W, Osswald TA (2022) Manufacturing of a PET filament from recycled material for material extrusion (MEX). Recycling 7(5):69. https://doi.org/10.3390/recycling7050069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Singh RK, Ruj B, Sadhukhan AK, Gupta P (2019) Impact of fast and slow pyrolysis on the degradation of mixed plastic waste: Product yield analysis and their characterization. J Energy Inst 92(6):1647–1657. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joei.2019.01.009

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. SP SP, Swaminathan G, Joshi VV (2021) Thermogravimetric analysis of hazardous waste: Pet-coke, by kinetic models and Artificial neural network modeling. Fuel 287:119470. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2020.119470

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Van de Voorde B et al (2022) Effect of extrusion and fused filament fabrication processing parameters of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) on the crystallinity and mechanical properties. Addit Manuf 50(November 2021):102518. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2021.102518

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Mecozzi M, Nisini L (2019) The differentiation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) samples by FTIR spectroscopy: A potential support for the structural differentiation of PET in environmental analysis. Infrared Phys Technol 101:119–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2019.06.008

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Phillipson K, Hay JN, Jenkins MJ (2014) Thermal analysis FTIR spectroscopy of poly(ε-caprolactone). Thermochim Acta 595:74–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2014.08.027

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Idrees M, Jeelani S, Rangari V (2018) Three-dimensional-printed sustainable biochar-recycled PET composites. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 6(11):13940–13948. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Pirzadeh E, Zadhoush A, Haghighat M (2007) Hydrolytic and thermal degradation of PET fibers and PET granule: The effects of crystallization, temperature, and humidity. J Appl Polym Sci 106(3):1544–1549. https://doi.org/10.1002/app.26788

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. Jabarin SA, Lofgren EA (1986) Effects of water absorption on physical properties and degree of molecular orientation of poly (ethylene terephthalate). Polym Eng Sci 26(9):620–625. https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.760260907

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank SERB, India, for the financial support under start up research grant (SRG/2021/001647) to conduct this research work at NIT Silchar.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. FMS Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Silchar, Assam, India

    Ch Kapil Ror, Sushant Negi & Vishal Mishra

Authors
  1. Ch Kapil Ror
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sushant Negi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vishal Mishra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sushant Negi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ror, C.K., Negi, S. & Mishra, V. Development and characterization of sustainable 3D printing filaments using post-consumer recycled PET: processing and characterization. J Polym Res 30, 350 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-023-03742-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-023-03742-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation