Speaker
Description
Discarded expanded polystyrene (EPS) poses significant environmental challenges due to its accumulation in landfills and resistance to degradation. Upcycling EPS into 3D-printable recycled polystyrene (rPS) filament for use in fused filament fabrication (FFF) shows a promising sustainable solution. However, fabricating 3D-printable filaments from recycled plastics presents several challenges, particularly in maintaining consistent filament geometry and ensuring material printability, which are critical for successful FFF processes. This study focuses on recycling EPS waste into rPS resin through a mechanical recycling approach. The rPS resin is then extruded into 3D printing filament using a 3DEVO filament maker. The primary focus is on evaluating the geometric consistency of the filament produced from the rPS resin. The mechanical properties of 3D-printed specimens using rPS filament were compared with those printed using commercial high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) filament. Filament diameter was monitored in real-time during extrusion using DevoVision software. The results showed that rPS filament achieved an average diameter of 1.75 mm with a standard deviation of ±0.03 mm when extruded at 200 °C. Extrusion at temperatures above 200 °C resulted in filament diameters exceeding 1.75 mm. Specimens printed with rPS filament exhibited higher tensile strength, tensile modulus, and elongation at break compared to those printed with HIPS filament. These findings indicate that rPS derived from EPS waste offers superior mechanical properties, suggesting it is a viable alternative to HIPS for FFF applications. This study highlights the potential of upcycled rPS as a sustainable material aligned with circular economy principles. Further research into additives and processing optimization is recommended to enhance the performance of rPS in FFF.
Keywords: Recycled polystyrene, High-impact polystyrene, Fused filament fabrication, 3D printing, Additive Manufacturing.
