Given the environmental impact of conventional 3D printing materials, researchers are looking for environmentally friendly alternatives. Insects could provide an innovative solution.
Scientists recently presented their progress in the field at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society. They extracted chitin from dead black soldier flies. The insects are a waste product of agriculture. Using a special process, the researchers extract the bioplastic chitosan from the chitin.
Initial experiments have shown that a hydrogel can be produced from chitosan. The aim is now to develop a fully-fledged bioplastic for 3D printing. This could then replace conventional petroleum-based materials such as polycarbonate or polyurethane.
Chitin is considered the second most abundant biopolymer on earth after cellulose. The researchers therefore see great potential for establishing it as an alternative to fossil raw materials in additive manufacturing. Development is still in its early stages, but the innovative idea shows how 3D printing could be made more environmentally friendly.
@3printr New insect-based 3D printing material! 🐛 #3DPrinting #EcoFriendly ♬ Originalton – 3Printr
The scientists also emphasize the advantages of insects over other natural raw material sources. “We are literally taking something that is waste and making something useful out of it,” explains lead researcher Karen Wooley. Compared to plant sources such as sugarcane, she says, insect farming does not compete with food or other applications.
If the chitosan bioplastic proves itself in further testing, it would be a big step toward more sustainable 3D printing methods. The organically degradable materials made from insect chitin could counteract plastic waste pollution. The vision is a closed-loop system where insects could even recycle plastic waste.
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