Novel materials can radically improve whole-system environmental impacts of additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing often has higher environmental impacts per part than traditional manufacturingat scale, but new materials can enable more sustainable 3D printing. This study developed and testednovel materials for paste extrusion printing, and tested materials invented by others. Testing comparedtheir whole-system environmental impacts to standard ABS extrusion, measured by life cycle assessment(LCA); testing also assessed material strength, printability, and cost. Materials were chosen for low printenergy (chemical bonding, not melting), low toxicity, and circular life cycle (biodegradable, ideallysourced from waste biomaterial). Printing energy was reduced 75% (from 160 to 40 Wh/part), andembodied impacts of materials were reduced 82% (from 6.6 to 1.2 ReCiPe Endpoint H millipoints/part).Overall impacts per part were reduced 78% (from 27 to 6 ReCiPe Endpoint H millipoints/part), includingembodied impacts of the printer itself, in a maximum utilization scenario. Results were also compared toprevious studies of seven different 3D printers of various types. More than ten material recipes weretested, and pecan shellflour with sodium silicate showed the best print quality. Strength and printquality did not approach ABS, but material cost was cut by 50%. Thus, while further development isrequired, some materials show promise for greener additive manufacturing