Investigating Mechanical, Morphological, and Thermal Properties of Secondary Recycled Polylactic Acid Reinforced with Wood Dust for Three-Dimensional Printing Applications

This study explores how various fabrication parameters impact the thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of composite filaments fabricated with reinforcement of secondary (2 degrees) recycled polylactic acid (PLA) with waste wood dust (WD) using a mechanical blending technique. The filaments were produced by adjusting the temperature, torque, and load a twin-screw extruder for use in applications of three-dimensional (3D) printing. This study demonstrates that melt flow index of filament reduces with an increase in the reinforcement percentage beyond certain limits. In this study, twin-screw extrusion has been used to prepare feedstock filament by reinforcing WD with 6 wt.% to impart required thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties. It has been examined that thermal, mechanical, and morphological properties of 2 degrees PLA reinforced with 6 % by weight of WD exhibits superior peak strength (PS), low porosity percentage, and better thermal stability as compared with other filaments fabricated at different weight percentages on the basis of extrusion parameters. Optimal parameter setting that exhibits maximum PS (31.81 MPa), percentage elongation at break (%BE) (8.86 %) at 7.5-kg load, 175 degrees C temperature, 0.1-Nm torque and 7.5-kg load, 185 degrees C temperature, 0.2-Nm torque, respectively. This study not only emphasizes the impact of fabrication parameters on filament properties but also highlights the sustainable manufacturing aspect of using 2 degrees PLA and WD as reinforcements. By incorporating recycled and waste materials, this approach contributes to reducing plastic waste and promoting sustainable and environmentally responsible manufacturing practices.