Periodic Reporting for period 3 - Repair3D (Recycling and Repurposing of Plastic Waste for Advanced 3D Printing Applications)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2023-05-31
Repair3D project targets to develop innovative reclamation and repurposing routes for end-of-life plastic and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) components. This will be achieved by employing advanced nanotechnology solutions, Additive Manufacturing (AM) and recycled resources, for the production of high added value 3D printed products with advanced functionalities.
In this way, the combination of AM, polymer processing and recycling technologies could constitute a new paradigm of a distributed recycling process, easily implemented at local scale in collaboration with the industrial sector and collection facilities, in order to create competitive, highly customisable products at lower production costs, in a flexible digital environment that fully unravels the potential of eco-design and allows for integration of smart intrinsic self-sensing, self-repairing and recycling options.
The project aims to address all aspects and stages of thermoplastic and CF reinforced thermoplastic 3D printing material development from recycled resources, starting with the selection of suitable waste streams, strategies for material repair, compatibilization and upgrade towards AM processing, compatibility between different thermoplastic matrices and the reinforcing fibres and nanoparticles, comparative assessment of various AM thermoplastic processing technologies and closed-loop material optimisation in terms of processability and performance.
In this way, the combination of AM, polymer processing and recycling technologies could constitute a new paradigm of a distributed recycling process, easily implemented at local scale in collaboration with the industrial sector and collection facilities, in order to create competitive, highly customisable products at lower production costs, in a flexible digital environment that fully unravels the potential of eco-design and allows for integration of smart intrinsic self-sensing, self-repairing and recycling options.
The project aims to address all aspects and stages of thermoplastic and CF reinforced thermoplastic 3D printing material development from recycled resources, starting with the selection of suitable waste streams, strategies for material repair, compatibilization and upgrade towards AM processing, compatibility between different thermoplastic matrices and the reinforcing fibres and nanoparticles, comparative assessment of various AM thermoplastic processing technologies and closed-loop material optimisation in terms of processability and performance.
In the third reporting period (1.1.2022 - 31.05.2023) the consortium reported all requested documentation that proves the progress and completion of the project. WP1 and WP2 developments have been finalized during the previous period and activities that continued were related to the provision of materials for further production of (nano)composite pellets and filaments for 3D printing. Additionally, all necessary characterizations and measurements have been performed within WP2 to the reclaimed fibres and nanocomposites with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to prove their self-healing ability. WP3 was also completed within this period and the main achievement is related to the manufacturing of the five (5) industrial demonstrators (D3.5). In parallel, benchmarking of the AM technologies and processing capabilities of recycled materials were discussed in D3.3 and D3.4 respectively. In WP4, the demonstrators have been tested in terms of their performance and functionalities (D4.9) and optimization of the parts was considered accordingly (D4.3). WP5 was the main running WP of the project for the last period. Studies related to the recycling of the demo parts that had been manufactured in WP3 were executed (D5.1) and evaluation of the materials properties after several recycling cycles was carried out (D5.2 D5.3) trying to determine the maximum processing cycles of the recycled 3D printed materials (D5.5). Moreover, the final strategy of the magnetic particles’ reclamation at the EoL (D5.4) together with strategies for the final recovery of the constituents were suggested (D5.6). In WP6 all related safety studies have been carried out, including exposure and release assessment (D6.4) toxicological assessment (D6.5) and risk assessment (D6.1) to ensure the safety of the processes within Repair3D. In parallel, the LCA (D6.2) and Cost evaluation studies (D6.3) have been performed for the demonstrators. Numerous Dissemination and Communication actions (WP7) were organized the last period, to raise social awareness and share the achievements of the project in social media, in clustering and networking events, in scientific publications, etc, as reported in D7.7 and D7.9. The exploitation/business strategy of Repair3D has been also completed (D7.8) together with the IP technology survey (D7.2). Two main events were organised in a hybrid form, the Repair3D Training School that was held at LTCP, Lavrio, Greece, in September 2022 (D7.10) and the Open Day Workshop, scheduled at Brussels, as a Final Closing event (D7.6) in May 2023. The final DMP is delivered (D8.1) with specific instructions for the data of Repair3D and how they will be processed after the project’s end. Datasets were also uploaded in the DMP platform in a structured way to be further exploited (e.g. uploaded in Open Access repositories). The smooth implementation of the project including the communication between the consortium partners and the EC has been ensured (WP8), together with management activities, financial and legal aspects and other issues, according to the GA terms and as described in D8.2 (QAP). Also, the risks of the project in technical level were identified and the mitigation actions are presented in D8.2.
Due to unforeseen delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, an extension of the project was requested through an official Amendment, for four (4) months. The deliverables that were due the end of the project, were extended accordingly.
Due to unforeseen delays caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, an extension of the project was requested through an official Amendment, for four (4) months. The deliverables that were due the end of the project, were extended accordingly.
The potential impacts of Repair3D can be summarized in the following:
- Meeting the EU's circular economy and environmental targets while demonstrating a clear benefit, i.e. more efficient or economic than the state of the art in order to enable market uptake in the short to medium term.
- Create new technologies and business opportunities for the recycling industry across Europe, especially in the area of composites and plastics where the challenge is high.
- Demonstrate a potential reduction in landfill waste volume by > 50%.
- Reduction of the carbon footprint of the corresponding products by > 30% (based on a full Life Cycle Assessment).
Repair3D has joined the Plastics Circularity Multiplier Cluster, an initiative which seeks to improve value chain collaboration and create cross cooperation between EU Projects. Repair3D is one of the innovation projects, who have joined this initiative which aims at showcasing the synergies of EU-funded projects in the field of plastic circularity and coordinating communication and dissemination activities. The initiative aims to complement existing resources set up by the EU institutions, designed to generate an ecosystem of EU investments in circular economy and innovation.
- Meeting the EU's circular economy and environmental targets while demonstrating a clear benefit, i.e. more efficient or economic than the state of the art in order to enable market uptake in the short to medium term.
- Create new technologies and business opportunities for the recycling industry across Europe, especially in the area of composites and plastics where the challenge is high.
- Demonstrate a potential reduction in landfill waste volume by > 50%.
- Reduction of the carbon footprint of the corresponding products by > 30% (based on a full Life Cycle Assessment).
Repair3D has joined the Plastics Circularity Multiplier Cluster, an initiative which seeks to improve value chain collaboration and create cross cooperation between EU Projects. Repair3D is one of the innovation projects, who have joined this initiative which aims at showcasing the synergies of EU-funded projects in the field of plastic circularity and coordinating communication and dissemination activities. The initiative aims to complement existing resources set up by the EU institutions, designed to generate an ecosystem of EU investments in circular economy and innovation.