Circular Light-Based 3D Printable Lipoate-based Polymers

Objective

The high speed and accuracy of photopolymer additive manufacturing methods are enabling the transition of their use from prototyping to production. While these manufacturing methods have advanced significantly over recent years, this has not been matched by developments in photopolymer resin technology, which remains based on petrochemical sourced materials and produces waste that cannot be recycled. CIRCLIPO will deliver high modulus, photocurable polymers for application in production scale circular additive manufacturing. The materials design leverages renewably sourced, Lipoic acid, to generate materials that can be printed, and then depolymerised at the end of their useful life to recreate virgin resin that can be reprinted in a highly efficient closed-loop manner – eliminating waste. Targeting bio-based monomer sources and green manufacturing processes, CIRCLIPO will deliver materials that offer comparable or better mechanical properties to the market-leading resins. Beyond these advances, CIRCLIPO will also offer unique opportunities to sustainably exploit the potential of 3D-printed multimaterials. This will be achieved by enabling on demand production and recycling of mixed plastic multimaterials in a sustainable manner. CIRCLIPO will uniquely provide sustainable materials and production methods that will ensure that production-scale additive manufacturing is part of a truly sustainable and circular plastic economy, and avoid the environmental damage that results from unsustainable resins, wasteful processes and non-recyclable printed plastics. Finally, CIRCLIPO will evaluate the economic potential and environmental impact of the materials using technoeconomic analysis and life cycle analysis, which will also be used to guide materials and process development.