An international team, including scientists from India, has successfully developed a method of using a compound from terrestrial insects to produce eco-friendly parts from polymer composites through 3D printing.
The researchers, including those from Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College in Tamilnadu, used chitosan derived from chitin, a compound found in the exoskeletons of arthropods such as insects and also in marine creatures such as crab shells.
3D printing technology is a form of manufacturing that has recently become popular due to its ability to produce complex shapes and geometries difficult to achieve with traditional manufacturing techniques.
As a result, the demand for raw materials for 3D printing is increasing. It is crucial to ensure the responsible use of 3D printing raw materials to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal 12, i.e. promoting sustainable patterns of consumption and production. Terrestrial insects are a potential source of chitosan due to their abundance, availability, and relatively high chitin content in their exoskeletons.
3D printed polymer
Extraction of chitosan from terrestrial insects has several potential advantages, including sustainable and ecological production.
Insects are a sustainable source of chitosan because they can be easily grown and harvested in large quantities without contributing to environmental pollution.
In contrast, traditional sources of chitosan such as shrimp and crab shells can be unsustainable and have negative environmental impacts.
The study, published in the Journal of Polymers and the Environment, investigated the feasibility of developing an environmentally friendly composite material using 3D printing technology,
The team, including researchers from the Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Tamilnadu, found that the addition of chitin and chitosan, derived from terrestrial insects, to a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix led to a reduction in strength and stiffness, which deteriorated. increasing concentration of chitin and chitosan. PLA is the most widely used plastic filament material in 3D printing.
A composite material with 0.5 percent by weight of chitin reinforcement had the lowest tensile and flexural strength compared to other composites made using additive manufacturing, the researchers said.
The reduction in strength and stiffness of chitin/PLA and chitosan/PLA composites compared to pure PLA was attributed to reduced interfacial bonding between the reinforcement and the matrix, they reported.
The chitin/PLA and chitosan/PLA composites showed increased ductility compared to pure PLA, with the 0.1 wt% chitin composite exhibiting the highest ductility, the degree to which the material can withstand stress.
The study concluded that chitin and chitosan could contribute to the strengthening of the PLA composite.
The team also found that the density of the composites increased with increasing concentrations of chitin and chitosan. Chitin/PLA and Chitosan/PLA composites showed good thermal stability and could have potential applications for packaging food products based on their compressive properties, the researchers added.
Other researchers in the study are from the Singapore Institute of Technology, Newcastle University in Singapore, Mahidol University in Thailand and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
