Poplar as Biofiber Reinforcement in Composites for Large-Scale 3D Printing

Xianhui Zhao; Halil Tekinalp; Xianzhi Meng; Darby Ker; Bowie Benson; Yunqiao Pu; Arthur J. Ragauskas; Yu Wang; Kai Li; Erin Webb; Douglas J. Gardner; James Anderson; Soydan Ozcan

doi:10.1021/acsabm.9b00675

Poplar as Biofiber Reinforcement in Composites for Large-Scale 3D Printing

Xianhui Zhao, Halil Tekinalp, Xianzhi Meng, Darby Ker, Bowie Benson, Yunqiao Pu, Arthur J. Ragauskas, Yu Wang, Kai Li, Erin Webb, Douglas J. Gardner, James Anderson, Soydan Ozcan

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

66 Scopus citations

Abstract

The economic viability of the biofuel industry could be improved by adding a high-value revenue stream for biomass supply chains: bioderived composites for the rapidly expanding large-scale additive manufacturing industry (i.e., 3D printing). Using fibrillated fibers derived from biomass (e.g., Populus) to reinforce polymers for 3D printing applications would be less expensive compared to using conventional carbon fibers. Poplar fibers of different mesh sizes (<180, 180-425, 425-850, and 850-2360 μm) were used to prepare poplar-polylactic acid (PLA) composites. The poplar/PLA composites were successfully printed using a large-scale 3D printer to create a podium support. The tensile strength of the composites increased from 34 to 54 MPa as the poplar fiber size decreased. The fracture surfaces of composites derived from smaller poplar fibers (<180 μm) were more compact with fewer voids compared with the composites made with larger poplar fibers. Because of the porous and hollow microstructures, smaller poplar fibers contained more pores on their outer surfaces, which were available for the access and penetration of PLA. Poplar has potential for use as a thermoplastic reinforcement for large-scale 3D printing.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4557-4570
Number of pages	14
Journal	ACS Applied Bio Materials
Volume	2
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.9b00675
State	Published - Oct 21 2019

Funding

This research was conducted in-part at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Authors would like to thank Matthew Sallas, Brian Post, and Alex Roschli for printing the final product. Authors would like to thank University of Tennessee Center for Renewable Carbon for providing the poplar used here and helping mill and fractionate it. The authors would like to thank Carbon and Composites Group members of Oak Ridge National Laboratory for their kind help during the research. Credit of podium base images: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy; photographer Erin Webb. This research was sponsored by the US Department of Energy, FY 2018 BETO Project, under Contract 2.5.6.105 with UT-Battelle, LLC. This paper has been authored in part by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).

Funders	Funder number
US Department of Energy	DE-AC05-00OR22725, 2.5.6.105
U.S. Department of Energy

Keywords

3D printing
bioderived material
fiber size
poplar
thermomechanical properties

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1021/acsabm.9b00675

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title = "Poplar as Biofiber Reinforcement in Composites for Large-Scale 3D Printing",

abstract = "The economic viability of the biofuel industry could be improved by adding a high-value revenue stream for biomass supply chains: bioderived composites for the rapidly expanding large-scale additive manufacturing industry (i.e., 3D printing). Using fibrillated fibers derived from biomass (e.g., Populus) to reinforce polymers for 3D printing applications would be less expensive compared to using conventional carbon fibers. Poplar fibers of different mesh sizes (<180, 180-425, 425-850, and 850-2360 μm) were used to prepare poplar-polylactic acid (PLA) composites. The poplar/PLA composites were successfully printed using a large-scale 3D printer to create a podium support. The tensile strength of the composites increased from 34 to 54 MPa as the poplar fiber size decreased. The fracture surfaces of composites derived from smaller poplar fibers (<180 μm) were more compact with fewer voids compared with the composites made with larger poplar fibers. Because of the porous and hollow microstructures, smaller poplar fibers contained more pores on their outer surfaces, which were available for the access and penetration of PLA. Poplar has potential for use as a thermoplastic reinforcement for large-scale 3D printing.",

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Poplar as Biofiber Reinforcement in Composites for Large-Scale 3D Printing

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Keywords

UN SDGs

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