1. Multi-material distributed recycling via material extrusion: recycled high density polyethylene and poly (ethylene terephthalate) mixture
- Author
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Gonzalez, Catalina Suescun, Sanchez, Fabio A. Cruz, Boudaoud, Hakim, Nouvel, Cecile, and Pearce, Joshua M.
- Subjects
Memory (Computers) -- Waste management ,3D printing ,Beverage industry -- Waste management ,Plastic scrap -- Waste management ,Ethylene -- Waste management ,Polyethylene terephthalate -- Waste management ,Recycling industry -- Waste management ,Manufacturing costs ,Semiconductor memory ,Engineering and manufacturing industries ,Science and technology - Abstract
The high volume of plastic waste and the extremely low recycling rate have created a serious challenge worldwide. Local distributed recycling and additive manufacturing (DRAM) offers a solution by economically incentivizing local recycling. One DRAM technology capable of processing large quantities of plastic waste is fused granular fabrication, where solid shredded plastic waste can be reused directly as 3D printing feedstock. This study presents an experimental assessment of multimaterial recycling printability using two of the most common thermoplastics in the beverage industry, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and the feasibility of mixing PET and HDPE to be used as a feedstock material for large-scale 3-D printing. After the material collection, shredding, and cleaning, the characterization and optimization of parameters for 3D printing were performed. Results showed the feasibility of printing a large object from rPET/ rHDPE flakes, reducing production costs by up to 88%. Highlights * Study: multi-material recycling printability of PET-HDPE. * Large-scale fused particle-based 3-D printing technically possible. * Direct waste 3-D printing rPET/rHDPE flakes, reducing production costs up to 88%. KEYWORDS 3-D printing, additive manufacturing, distributed recycling, HDPE, PET, recycling, 1 | INTRODUCTION The disposal of plastic waste is one of the most challenging current environmental concerns given its systemic complexity. (1) The mass of micro-/meso-plastics in the oceans is [...]
- Published
- 2024
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