Here at 3D Rapid Print, one of the fastest growing 3D Printing companies in the Thames Valley, we like to keep abreast of the latest innovations in 3D printing.
On January 19th 2022, the University of Delaware (UD) announced that a team of its researchers had developed a way to convert technical lignin into high-performance plastics, including 3D printing resins. (Lignin is a waste product left over from the manufacturing of paper; technical lignin is a type of lignin that UD claimed isn’t usable outside of potentially burning for heat and adding to tires as filler.) UD argued that major drawbacks of current industrial techniques to upgrade lignin include high running costs, high energy consumption, being impractical to scale and safety concerns due to the solvents and vapour pressures used in the process.
However, the team found a way around this by replacing methanol with glycerin, such that the process could be done at ambient atmospheric pressure. (Methanol’s uses include being used as a solvent in lignin deconstruction. Glycerin is usually used in things like soaps and lotions due to its moisturizing capabilities.) UD argued that glycerin gave the same chemical functionality as methanol, such that glycerin helps break down lignin into chemicals that can be used to make a wide range of products, including 3D printing resins. UD contended that this enabled the researchers to do multiple steps of the process simultaneously when this would not be viable with methanol, making the system more cost-effective.
Developing the process so that it would work consistently took circa a year, including researching what types of products the team could create along with estimating their physical properties. This enabled the system to be modelled to establish if it was economically viable, which found that the cost to operate the new, low-pressure process was significantly lower than that of conventional means and generated useful by-products. The team’s research was published in the journal Science Advances and they have applied for a patent on their ambient pressure process.
3D printing is an amazing tool. It can grow your small business or start a mini revolution in an industry. Explore what it can do for you when you contact us today.
Disclaimer: Featured image of “Machinerie van een papierfabriek, Bestanddeelnr 190-0423” has been dedicated to the public domain by its author (known only as Willem van de Poll) under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.
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