Vegetable oils: a promising sustainable feedstock for light-based 3D printing Clara Vazquez Martel 1,2 , Lukas Becker 1 , Wilfried V. Liebig 4 , Peter Elsner 4,5 , Eva Blasco 1,2,3 1 OCI, Heidelberg University, Germany, 2 CAM, Heidelberg University, Germany, 3 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, 4 Institute for Applied Materials, Germany, 5 Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Germany Due to their versatility, adaptability, and durability, polymers are a ubiquitous material class in 3D printing. 1 However, to bring the field of polymer 3D printing to the next level and exploit its whole potential as a revolutionary manufacturing technique, sustainability must be addressed. In this context, sustainable feedstock sources are a crucial element to examine. The use of biobased molecules derived from plants and microorganisms which can be modified and utilized as platforms for designing new polymers for 3D printing is a promising approach. 2 For instance, vegetable oils are a very attractive plant-based feedstock due to their wide availability, low price, and interesting functionality. 3–5 Herein, novel sustainable formulations are developed for digital light processing (DLP) using five vegetable oils – sunflower, canola, soybean, olive, and sesame oil – as feedstock. 6 These vegetable oils are successfully modified by incorporating photopolymerizable groups such as acrylates enabling printability. The biobased formulations consisting of functionalized oil and a photoinitiator are employed as inks for DLP without the need for further additives. The rheology and curing behavior of all vegetable oil-based inks, as well as the thermal and mechanical properties of the printed materials, are carefully investigated. In summary, sunflower and canola oil derivatives offer a better cost-performance ratio than state-of-the-art soybean oil materials and can be employed for 3D printing complex geometries with high speed and resolution. We believe this work enriches the opportunities of using biobased and inexpensive materials as high-performance polymer materials and opens new possibilities for the next generation of sustainable 3D printing. References 1. S. C. Ligon, R. Liska, J. Stampfl, M. Gurr and R. Mülhaupt, Chemical Reviews , 2017, 117 , 10212. 2. E. Sanchez-Rexach, T. G. Johnston, C. Jehanno, H. Sardon and A. Nelson, Chem. Mater. , 2020, 32 , 7105. 3. U. Biermann, U. T. Bornscheuer, I. Feussner, M. A. R. Meier and J. O. Metzger, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. , 2021, 60 , 20144. 4. L. Montero de Espinosa and M. A. Meier, European Polymer Journal , 2011, 47 , 837. 5. H. Sardon, D. Mecerreyes, A Basterretxea, L. Avérous and C. Jehanno, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. , 2021, 9 , 10664. C. 6. Vazquez-Martel, L. Becker, W. V. Liebig, P. Elsner and E. Blasco, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. , 2021, 9 , 16840.
P115
© The Author(s), 2022
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog