Evonik is introducing a new polyamide 12 powder designed to 'unbound sustainable 3D printing at scale.'
The INFINAM eCO PA12 is said to substitute 100% of fossil feedstock with bio-circular raw material from waste cooking oil in a mass balancing process.
This, Evonik says, amounts to a 74% reduction of CO2 emissions compared to the castor oil-based polyamides of Evonik's INFINAM Terra development grade. Having already launched a new PA12 grade with reduced carbon footprint in 2022, Evonik says it is now fully aligning its portfolio of polyamide 12 powders with its circularity approach.
That starts, per Evonik, with bio-circular raw materials. Waste cooking oil, of which more than 15 million tonnes is produced annually, has been identified as one ingredient that can be used as raw material source for chemical production. By leveraging waste cooking oil in the production of its INFINAM eCO PA12, Evonik claims to have developed a material significantly more sustainable than its previous PA12 materials.
In addition to an improved carbon footprint due to renewable energy use and a bio-circular raw material, Evonik says its new polyamide 12 grade has a 'proven reusability rate of 100 percent of the structure support powder,' with a refresh rate of 70/30 of used versus virgin material over several printing cycles. The material is also said to exhibit 'excellent processability and stable mechanical properties.'
“True circularity is key for being successful in the future. As a pioneer for polymer-based 3D printing materials, Evonik has developed a formula for its PA12 powders to drive circular plastics economy in additive manufacturing”, commented Dominic Störkle, Head of the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Growth Field at Evonik. “With the introduction of INFINAM eCO PA12, we go far beyond chemistry to start closing the loop, and meet the market’s expectations for a better future.”
Evonik's approach to delivering more sustainable products is based on four cornerstones - reuse, reduce, renewable, recycle - as well as total life cycle assessments of its PA12 formulations and consistent improvement. Through these endeavours, Evonik also looks at important factors like water consumption and land use. Moving forward, the company will also explore new end-of-life opportunities for PA12 powders to 'fully close the loop.'
Evonik will present its new material at Formnext in hall 12.1 at booth C39.
