Sustainable Additive Manufacturing: Mechanical Response of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol over Multiple Recycling Processes

Устойчивое аддитивное производство: механический отклик полиэтилентерефталатгликоля при многократных циклах переработки
Nectarios Vidakis, Markos Petousis, Nikolaos Mountakis, Lazaros Tzounis, Sotirios Grammatikos, Athena Maniadi, Emmanouil Porfyrakis
2021-03-02

Raman spectroscopydistributed recycling additive manufacturingfused filament fabricationmechanical propertiesrecycled PETG
The continuous demand for thermoplastic polymers in a great variety of applications, combined with an urgent need to minimize the quantity of waste for a balanced energy-from-waste strategy, has led to increasing scientific interest in developing new recycling processes for plastic products. Glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) is known to have some enhanced properties as compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) homopolymer; this has recently attracted the interest from the fused filament fabrication (FFF) three-dimensional (3D) printing community. PET has shown a reduced ability for repeated recycling through traditional processes. Herein, we demonstrate the potential for using recycled PETG in consecutive 3D printing manufacturing processes. Distributed recycling additive manufacturing (DRAM)-oriented equipment was chosen in order to test the mechanical and thermal response of PETG material in continuous recycling processes. Tensile, flexure, impact strength, and Vickers micro-hardness tests were carried out for six (6) cycles of recycling. Finally, Raman spectroscopy as well as thermal and morphological analyses via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) fractography were carried out. In general, the results revealed a minor knockdown effect on the mechanical properties as well as the thermal properties of PETG following the process proposed herein, even after six rounds of recycling.
1
PETG exhibited only minor reductions in mechanical properties after six recycling rounds.
2
Raman spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and SEM fractography were used to characterize PETG changes during recycling.
3
Recycled PETG can be used in consecutive fused-filament-fabrication 3D-printing processes using distributed recycling additive manufacturing equipment.
4
Tensile, flexural, impact-strength, and Vickers micro-hardness properties were evaluated across six PETG recycling cycles.
5
Thermal properties also experienced only a minor knockdown following the proposed continuous recycling process.

Glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG) processed through consecutive distributed-recycling additive manufacturing cycles

Mechanical and thermal response, including tensile, flexural, impact, micro-hardness, spectroscopic, and morphological changes, across six recycling cycles

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2021-03-02
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Nectarios Vidakis
Markos Petousis
Nikolaos Mountakis
Lazaros Tzounis
Sotirios Grammatikos
Athena Maniadi
Emmanouil Porfyrakis
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