ABSTRACT This study presents a novel approach to sustainable additive manufacturing by utilizing waste Mucuna pruriens seed powder (MPSP) as a bio‐based reinforcement in recycled Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (r‐ABS) composites, addressing critical environmental challenges through agricultural waste valorization and circular material utilization. Comprehensive morphological characterization using SEM revealed irregular MPSP particles with fractal dimensions and mean size 1.13 ± 0.25 μm, exhibiting trimodal particle size distribution spanning large particles (1.2–1.4 μm), mid‐range (0.9–1.2 μm), and small particles (0.6–0.9 μm). EDAX spectroscopy confirmed favorable elemental composition with 51.81 wt% carbon (59.08 atomic%), 45.81 wt% oxygen, and 1.38 wt% nitrogen, indicating suitable reinforcement potential. XRD crystallographic analysis revealed a 28.41% crystallinity index with an average crystallite size of 21 nm, demonstrating comparable structural characteristics to established natural fillers including chestnut shell (23.25%) and almond shell (32.88%). Systematic mechanical property optimization identified optimal performance at 3 wt% MPSP loading, achieving significant enhancements: tensile strength increased by 5% (29.87–31.21 MPa), flexural strength improved by 10.3% (47.81–52.73 MPa), flexural modulus enhanced by 10.3% (2250–2350 MPa), and most notably, impact strength increased by 34.03%, demonstrating exceptional toughness improvement. These comprehensive findings establish MPSP‐reinforced r‐ABS filaments as promising sustainable materials for high‐performance 3D printing applications, effectively transforming dual waste streams into value‐added composites with superior mechanical properties suitable for demanding additive manufacturing applications.
Arunachalam et al. (2025) studied this question.