Distributed recycling of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) into filament for use in material extrusion 3D printing has been proposed as part of a circular economy. There is a gap in the understanding of the potential for HDPE to release contaminants that are potentially hazardous to human health during reuse. Herein, HDPE from post-consumer packaging waste was sorted into food and non-food (NF) streams and virgin HDPE was taken as a benchmark material. All materials were extruded into filaments and recycled multiple times while monitoring emissions. In general, particle and organic chemical emissions decreased by 93 to 99% and 73 to 99%, respectively, with increased reprocessing cycle without appreciable decline in mechanical (Young’s modulus decreased by 5 to 16%), processability (melt flow index stable from 0.2 to 0.7 g/10 min for waste plastics), and thermal properties (crystallinity ranged from a 6% decrease to a 9% increase) of plastics. An exception was a sub-stream of NF plastic that had increased particle emissions (up to 3100%) with reprocessing cycle. Reductions in emissions during filament extrusion appeared to be more influenced by reprocessing cycle than by any specific process step (grinding, etc.). The progressive decline in emissions without appreciable loss of polymer integrity could be exploited to pre-condition HDPE to reduce potential hazardous emissions prior to extruding into filament. This work helps fill the knowledge gap on approaches to recycling plastics in distributed settings such as home-based businesses, which is critical for developing effective recommendations for controls to enable safe work practices such as the use of ventilation to minimize exposures.
Stefaniak et al. (Wed,) studied this question.