Strategies for recycling multi-material polymer blends for additive manufacturing
The rapid advancement of additive manufacturing (AM) technology, combined with the growing accumulation of plastic waste, has generated significant interest in utilizing materials derived from plastic waste and their composites within the AM industry. This paper examines the methods and approaches currently employed in recycling and blending thermoplastic waste into additive manufacturing feedstocks, aiming to enhance understanding and guide future advancements in this field. A systematic literature review including 82 papers from 2014 to 2024 was performed using the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The review findings indicate that approximately 83 % of the research is concentrated in production of new materials combining various polymer waste with recycled bio-sourced materials, recycled fillers or other additives for property enhancement. The evaluation and characterization of these new materials was carry out mostly using 3D printing, predominantly employing fused filament fabrication technology (63 %). The remaining 17 % focus on the improvement of the printing quality and optimization, development or adaptation of 3D printers for the utilization of new materials, and material reprocessability. This review highlight the need of evaluating the behavior of recycled blends over multiple life cycles, the cost and environmental assessments, and primary end-use applications of these materials, including as well as further development and design of printers.
See also
[edit source]RepRapable Recyclebot and the Wild West of Recycling
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Recycling Technology
[edit source]- Recyclebot
- RepRapable Recyclebot: Open source 3-D printable extruder for converting plastic to 3-D printing filament
- Open Source 3-D Filament Diameter Sensor for Recycling, Winding and Additive Manufacturing Machines
- Improving recyclebot concepts
- 3-D Printable Polymer Pelletizer Chopper for Fused Granular Fabrication-Based Additive Manufacturing
- Mechanical Properties of Direct Waste Printing of Polylactic Acid with Universal Pellets Extruder: Comparison to Fused Filament Fabrication on Open-Source Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers
- Fused Particle Fabrication 3-D Printing: Recycled Materials' Optimization and Mechanical Properties
- Multi-material distributed recycling via material extrusion: recycled high density polyethylene and poly (ethylene terephthalate) mixture
- Mechanical Properties and Applications of Recycled Polycarbonate Particle Material Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing
- Wood Furniture Waste-Based Recycled 3-D Printing Filament
- Solar powered distributed customized manufacturing
- Mechanical Properties of Ultraviolet-Assisted Paste Extrusion and Postextrusion Ultraviolet-Curing of Three-Dimensional Printed Biocomposites
- Open Source Waste Plastic Granulator
- Open-Source Grinding Machine for Compression Screw Manufacturing
- Sustainability and Feasibility Assessment of Distributed E-Waste Recycling using Additive Manufacturing in a Bi-Continental Context
- Finding Ideal Parameters for Recycled Material Fused Particle Fabrication-Based 3D Printing Using an Open Source Software Implementation of Particle Swarm Optimization
- Waste Plastic Direct Extrusion Hangprinter
- Hangprinter for Large Scale Additive Manufacturing using Fused Particle Fabrication with Recycled Plastic and Continuous Feeding
- Open Source Cold and Hot Scientific Sheet Press for Investigating Polymer-Based Material Properties
- Low-Cost Open-Source Melt Flow Index System for Distributed Recycling and Additive Manufacturing
- Creating Custom 3D Printing Material Colors Using Optical Modeling of Waste Plastic
- Strategies for recycling multi-material polymer blends for additive manufacturing
- Open source technology readiness level assessment and application to the case study of distributed recycling for additive manufacturing
- Evaluation of the Potential of Large-Scale 3D Printing to Promote a Circular Economy of PET Plastic Bottles: Comparison Between European and North American
Distributed Recycling LCA
[edit source]- Tightening the loop on the circular economy: Coupled distributed recycling and manufacturing with recyclebot and RepRap 3-D printing
- Technical pathways for distributed recycling of polymer composites for distributed manufacturing: Windshield wiper blades
- Plastic recycling in additive manufacturing: A systematic literature review and opportunities for the circular economy
- Energy Payback Time of a Solar Photovoltaic Powered Waste Plastic Recyclebot System
- Life cycle analysis of distributed recycling of post-consumer high density polyethylene for 3-D printing filament
- Evaluation of Potential Fair Trade Standards for an Ethical 3-D Printing Filament
- Life cycle analysis of distributed polymer recycling
- Distributed recycling of post-consumer plastic waste in rural areas
- Ethical Filament Foundation
- Green Fab Lab Applications of Large-Area Waste Polymer-based Additive Manufacturing
- Systems Analysis for PET and Olefin Polymers in a Circular Economy
- Potential of distributed recycling from hybrid manufacturing of 3-D printing and injection molding of stamp sand and acrylonitrile styrene acrylate waste composite
- Towards Distributed Recycling with Additive Manufacturing of PET Flake Feedstocks
- Compatibilizer effectiveness for the reuse of mixed post-consumer solid waste plastic towards Distributed recycling additive manufacturing
Literature Reviews
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- Waste plastic extruder: literature review
- Life cycle analysis of polymer recycling literature review
- Solar powered recyclebot literature review
- Waste plastic extruder: literature review
- Life cycle analysis of polymer recycling literature review
Externals
[edit source]- Economist article on U. of Washington's HDPE boat, Oprn3dp.me
- https://ultimaker.com/en/resources/52444-ocean-plastic-community-project
- Another possible solution - reusable containers [1]
- Commercial https://dyzedesign.com/pulsar-pellet-extruder/
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- Cruz, F., Lanza, S., Boudaoud, H., Hoppe, S., & Camargo, M. Polymer Recycling and Additive Manufacturing in an Open Source context: Optimization of processes and methods. [2]
- Investigating Material Degradation through the Recycling of PLA in Additively Manufactured Parts
- Mohammed, M.I., Das, A., Gomez-Kervin, E., Wilson, D. and Gibson, I., EcoPrinting: Investigating the use of 100% recycled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) for Additive Manufacturing.
- Kariz, M., Sernek, M., Obućina, M. and Kuzman, M.K., 2017. Effect of wood content in FDM filament on properties of 3D printed parts. Materials Today Communications. [3]
- Kaynak, B., Spoerk, M., Shirole, A., Ziegler, W. and Sapkota, J., 2018. Polypropylene/Cellulose Composites for Material Extrusion Additive Manufacturing. Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, p.1800037. [4]
- O. Martikka et al., "Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Wood-Plastic Composites", Key Engineering Materials, Vol. 777, pp. 499-507, 2018 [5]
- Yang, T.C., 2018. Effect of Extrusion Temperature on the Physico-Mechanical Properties of Unidirectional Wood Fiber-Reinforced Polylactic Acid Composite (WFRPC) Components Using Fused Deposition Modeling. Polymers, 10(9), p.976. [6]
- Romani, A., Rognoli, V., & Levi, M. (2021). Design, Materials, and Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing in Circular Economy Contexts: From Waste to New Products. Sustainability, 13(13), 7269. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7269/pdf
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Organizations | Western University, FAST, University of Lorraine |
| Cite as | J.M.Pearce (2025). "Strategies for recycling multi-material polymer blends for additive manufacturing". Appropedia. Retrieved June 3, 2026. |