Paulo Brites - Allowing extrusion of thermoplastic starch-based 3D printing filaments

CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials (Materials and Ceramic Engineering Department, University of Aveiro), Portugal
Allowing extrusion of thermoplastic starch-based 3D printing filaments using potato peel waxes as a biobased additive
Renewable, sustainable, and biodegradable polysaccharide-based plastics derived from agrofood byproducts aims to decrease the ecological footprint of both plastic and agrofood industries. However, their industrial processability is still a challenge. To overcome these drawbacks, bioplasticizers as lipids have been blended with polysaccharide-based formulations (1). In this work, the influence of potato peel waxes(PPW) on fluidity, mechanical behaviour, moisture content, and water vapour transmission rate(WVTR) of melt-mixed/hot-pressed thermoplastic starch(TPS)-based films was studied, being the starch used recovered from potato washing slurries. Moreover, the feasibility of extruding potato peel waxes/TPS-based 3D printing filaments was assessed. PPW/TPS-based formulations showed a higher fluidity than pristine samples, as demonstrated by melt flow rate increase from 19.7 up to 37.3 g/10 min. Moreover, PPW decreased the elastic deformation capacity of TPS-based films from 10.6 down to 8.5 MPa and increased their elongation at break from 36.7% up to 47.3%, conferring flexibility. Hydrophilicity of TPS-based films obtained through thermo-compression was not surpassed by PPW incorporation, due to the minor dosages used. However, their incorporation decreased the films moisture content and WVTR from 3.14% down to 2.37% and 709.1 down to 277.4 g/m2.day, respectively. The rheological, mechanical, and physical changes promoted by PPW allowed to efficiently extrude a TPS-based 3D printing filament with an average thickness of 1.75 mm. PPW are promising bioadditives to enhance processability and mechanical/physical properties of TPS-based formulations, allowing their compatibilization with plastic processing techniques, and valorising potato byproducts. References: 1. I. Gonçalves et al. Int J Biol Macromol., 163, (2020), 251-9.

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