Development and characterization of sustainable PLA/Olive wood waste composites for rehabilitation applications using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). (15th September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fico, Daniela; Rizzo, Daniela; De Carolis, Valentina; Montagna, Francesco; Palumbo, Elisabetta; Corcione, Carola Esposito
• Is Part Of: Journal of building engineering. Volume 56(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-09-15
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing (AM) -- Circular economy -- Olive wood scraps -- Requalification -- LCA; Building -- Periodicals; 690.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104673
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2352-7102

Abstract

Abstract: An understanding of how the construction industry can support the transition towards a Circular Economy (CE) of the built environment plays a key role in rehabilitation processes that often require skilled labor. Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technique, is a new technology recently proposed for this purpose. In recent years, a number of studies have been presented to improve the sustainability of the main materials used in 3D printing (e.g. PLA filament), suggesting, in particular, some interesting composite filaments. The present paper is related to the development and characterization of sustainable materials, able to reduce the environmental impacts of the conventional materials for FFF. More specifically, various composite filaments based on polylactic acid (PLA) and different amounts of olive wood scraps were produced by an extrusion process and fully characterized from a physical, thermal and mechanical point of view. As they are suitable for application in a low-cost 3D printing machine, these filaments are used to build simple 3D printed models as a first exploitation of architectural building elements based on wood powder. In addition, in order to evaluate the environmental advantages of the wood waste derived composite filaments, the impact indicators were also quantified by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA results showed environmental benefits resulting from the inclusion of wood scraps in PLA filaments (20% of wood corresponds to 10% impact reduction) supporting further research in this area. Highlights: Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) is a new technology recently proposed for rehabilitation processes. Recently the research focus is on developing sustainable materials for use in FFF. New bio-composite materials have been developed from olive wood waste, a resource of considerable interest for Puglia. A complete morphological-structural, thermal and mechanical characterization of the new filaments has been carried out. LCA showed environmental benefits resulting from the inclusion of wood scraps in PLA filaments.