The recent affordability of desktop 3D printers has resulted in a surge of Additive Manufacturing (AM) research in interdisciplinary fields (toxicology, environmental chemistry). While mobile AM labs deploy 3D printers for parts-on-demand in remote locations, novel research expands mobile AM to deployment of 3D printed builds into environmental media. This paper summarizes our developing environmental applications research, including: (1) passive sampling for environmental contaminants; (2) remediation of waste streams; and (3) quantification of potential environmental implications of these technologies, including printer emissions and environmental degradation and hazard of polymers. The environmental life cycle of AM applications must be considered provided concerns with microplastics in the environment. First, we discuss passive sampling of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in water and sediment using low density polyethylene (LDPE). While LDPE has a proven track record for determining PCB concentrations in sediment porewater, the devices are simply cut sections of commercially available sheeting. Our research explores altering Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) print parameters (nozzle size, speed, layer height) to determine if 3D printed LDPE devices can improve quality control and PCB uptake kinetics. Printed LDPE samplers were deployed in contaminated sediment and kinetically sampled to determine and optimize uptake efficiency and rates. We also investigated potential for highly filled thermoplastics to remediate contaminated waste streams, including the feasibility of mixing rigid, particles (38-180 μm) into biocompatible polylactide (PLA) thermoplastic filaments to remove environmental contaminants from water. Our preliminary findings revealed that dual screw extrusion of PLA containing zeolite and activated carbon at 15 to 25% (by mass) produced printable filaments by FFF. High surface area prints from the PLA-zeolite filament resulted in deployable materials capable of reducing ammonia concentrations in water (50% in &lt;24 hours). Finally, we characterized aerosolized emissions of filled PLA compared to neat PLA in confined space, using a fast mobility particle analyzer. Ultrafine particles emitted increased with extrusion temperatures and with fillers, although the increase was attributed to the thermoplastic binder. Simultaneous considerations of the applications and implications will foster responsible and sustainable AM technologies.

Taking it outside: Benefits and risks of additive manufacturing for environmental monitoring and remediation technologies

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.