Three-Dimensional Printing with Biomass-Derived PEF for Carbon-Neutral Manufacturing

Biomass-derived poly(ethylene-2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) has been used for fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. A complete cycle from cellulose to the printed object has been performed. The printed PEF objects created in the present study show higher chemical resistance than objects printed with commonly available materials (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), glycol-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PETG)). The studied PEF polymer has shown key advantages for 3D printing: optimal adhesion, thermoplasticity, lack of delamination and low heat shrinkage. The high thermal stability of PEF and relatively low temperature that is necessary for extrusion are optimal for recycling printed objects and minimizing waste. Several successive cycles of 3D printing and recycling were successfully shown. The suggested approach for extending additive manufacturing to carbon-neutral materials opens a new direction in the field of sustainable development.