3D printing sustainable filament from recycled polypropylene reinforced with waste paper

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges of contemporary society is dealing with the excessive generation of solid waste and its disposal. The growth of industrial production followed by inadequate waste management and the lack of appropriate areas for its disposal generate global environmental problems. Environmental policies have guided the actions of governments, society, academia and industry towards the sustainable management of solid waste. In general, additive manufacturing has encouraged growth in research and innovation with an interest in studying and developing new materials from renewable sources and new manufacturing technologies. In terms of 3D printing filament production, the use of composites and recycled raw materials has stood out, making it possible to obtain materials with reduced costs, maintaining its performance and respecting its service life. Within this context, the aim of the project is to obtain a recycled polypropylene (PP) composite from disposable cups using waste paper as a reinforcement for the production of sustainable filaments for 3D printing. Methodology consists in residual paper and recycled PP characterization in order to obtain the properties for its processing. The composites will be obtained from the processing of the materials by means of a thermo kinetic mixer, as well as the pure PP. Both the composites with 10 % of reinforcement and the pure PP will be grinded and then processed by extrusion to obtain the sustainable filaments, which will be characterized by thermal and mechanical analysis. From thermal properties, the parameters will be determined for its processing and application, prediction of the service life through the kinetic study and finally its use as raw material for 3D printing. (AU)