Scientists 3D Print Degradable Polymers Utilizing Salt
Dr. Emily Pentzer, an associate educator in the Division of Materials Science and Engineering and the Division of Chemistry at Texas A&M College, makes 3D printed polymers more environmentally friendly with a procedure that enables the polymers to naturally degrade in time. Pentzer’s research is a collective effort that contains scientists from the Texas A&M College of Engineering, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas A&M Division of Chemistry, and the College of Kashmir.
“Our objective was to produce lasting deteriorate polymeric frameworks,” Pentzer stated. “We did this by leveraging the microstructures afforded by chemistry together with the macrostructures afforded by 3D printing.”
Most industrial synthetic polymers contain giant molecules that do not disintegrate under common problems. When left in the atmosphere, producing things such as Styrofoam mugs or plastic containers break down into little pieces that are hidden by the nude eye. Still, the lengthy polymer particles stay existing forever.
“It’s not just the plastic container being kicked down the road,” Pentzer stated. “These products break down into microplastics that stay in the atmosphere. We don’t totally recognize the influence of microplastics. Still, they’ve been shown to bring illness, heavy metals, and also fecal bacteria.”
To create the degradable polymers, Pentzer dealt with Dr. Don Darensbourg, a prominent lecturer in the Division of Chemistry at Texas A&M, to use CO2 and table salt to develop the ink used in the 3D printing process. After printing, the frameworks are washed with water to liquify the salt and solidify the framework. While the exterior of the framework continues to look smooth, the procedure makes thousands of tiny pores, which enable the chemical compounds to degrade more quickly.
“Under the ideal problems, the polymers we’ve developed will, in fact, deteriorate promptly,” Pentzer said. “Preferably, they’ll break apart into tiny molecules that are not toxicant. These smaller molecules will be unable to bring things like heavy metals or germs.”
As the research study advances, Pentzer hopes to utilize this procedure to make packaging products to ensure that things like boxes and tape could degrade quicker rather than being in a landfill for several years to come. She also observes a brilliant future for 3D-printed polymers in the biomedical area.
“These products could be utilized for diverse biomedical applications,” Pentzer stated. “Items like scaffolds for implants that will degrade gradually so your body can recover, yet you won’t have that piece of plastic in you forever.”
With her interdisciplinary research, Pentzer seeks to solve a global problem that might affect the environment, human health, biomedicine, and almost every element of human presence.
“It’s type of like wedding the science with the engineering,” Pentzer stated. “Working together, we can develop synergy and achieve much more.”
Read the original article on engineering tamu.
