Hooray!! for the enterprises who try to keep up the eco-friendliness of the 3D printing process in the midst of the turning to engineered materials trend , still petroleum-based, still polluting:
It would be a lot easier to support bioplastics if their material properties didn’t kind of suck. PLA isn’t a very stable or durable material. PCL is super niche because it creeps so fast. PLA/PHA is mechanically better, but expensive and more difficult to print than other materials.
I’m quite interested in the “new PLA” blends like Esun’s PLA+ that are less brittle… but it’s not clear to me what they’re using to achieve those properties. For example, if they’re blending petrochemicals into PLA, that would kind of defeat the point. No idea what they’re doing.
If companies invest in research we’ll get there. I am advocating for some years now a PLA-nanocellulose blend… that would surely rock the bioplastics boat. PLA-carbon fiber is in the category that defeats the purpose… better ABS-carbon fiber…
Yeah, there is a lot of good research happening, but much of it (like CFR-PLA as you note) is definitely baffling. Doesn’t make any sense except for hype.
Hopefully that is a step forward rather than just hype. For example, people calling PLA biodegradable is something I’d consider greenwashing, because it’s generally only biodegradable in rather extreme artificial conditions. I can’t use PLA because it softens at too low of a temperature, and I haven’t found any good information on what is in the fancy high temp PLA.
It’s usable for so many applications where people choose ABS instead for no other reason than preference, which is detrimental to the green credentials the 3D printing should have (save the world, re-localize production, decouple from dependence on petrochemicals and foreign manufacturing countries, etc, etc).
PLA is biodegradable in certain conditions but the important fact is that it is renewable, bio-based and non-toxic while printing (unless mixed with other pollutant chemicals).
Again, wish so much PLA-Nanocellulose would be produced by someone… let’s make a petition for that 