Coal polymer composites prepared by fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing

Shuyang Zhang, Muhammad Zia ur Rehman, Samarthya Bhagia, Xianzhi Meng, Harry M. Meyer, Hsin Wang, Michael R. Koehler, Kalsoom Akhtar, David P. Harper, Arthur J. Ragauskas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Coal is a vital energy resource worldwide, but pollutants and greenhouse gases from its combustion cause environmental problems. To explore the non-combustion approach to use and valorize coal, anthracite and lignite were blended with polyamide 12 (PA 12) through FDM printing in this work and compared in the composites. By adding lignite, Young’s modulus improved with increasing loading to 50 wt% while tensile strength leveled off among the composites, compared to that of PA 12. By contrast, the addition of anthracite decreased the tensile performance at all loadings. Rheology tests and morphology analyses suggested that the interactions between fillers (anthracite and lignite) and PA 12 may cause differences in tensile properties. In addition, the printed lignite composites showed improved thermal conductivity (~ twofold), indicating lignite demonstrates the potential to build functional composites. This work provides a strategy to use lignite in composites by 3D printing for value-added products and reduces the demand for petroleum-based polymers. Our approach diverts lignite from combustion processes and alleviates the negative impact of lignite use on the environment. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10141-10152
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Materials Science
Volume57
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022

Funding

Arthur J. Ragauskas and Shuyang Zhang wish to acknowledge the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for its support of Arthur J. Ragauskas’ Governor’s Chair.

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