Algix printing with algae
Algix printing with algae
One of the many hyperboles you hear about 3D printing is that it is a super green technology, that the additive nature means less waste, that ABS is a great recyclable product and that PLA is the answer to our carbon footprint prayers.
Not all of that is strictly true, without doubt it is headed that way but currently processes are just not efficient enough; very few people with desktop 3D printers are recycling their failed / no-longer needed ABS prints and PLA requires composting before it truly degrades. One partnership here at Rapid are looking to solve this carbon problem by, in turn, curing another - Algal blooms.
Algae T-Rex Print
T-Rex skull printed using Algix and 3D Fuel's Algae Filament
Algix, a Mississippi -based clean technology company that produces sustainable plastics using algae and other aquaculture have teamed up with 3D Fuel to offer a Algae Fuel PLA, a PLA with a 20% algae biomass.
"Algae really accelerates the biodegradable properties of PLA," Algix's Barbara Zeller told us at Rapid. "We printed this part (the logo below) a few months ago but under the right conditions of moisture and temperature it will decompose in three weeks."
Algix and 3D Fueld say that printing with the Algae PLA is comparable to printing with regular PLA and the parts on display at their booth at Rapid certainly suggest that to be true. Quality control is high on the list of both companies and the key to getting the filament popularised but it is the virtuous circle of sustainability that makes this a truly unique product.
"Right now we’re working with catfish farmers, who use the technology to pump out pond water with an algal problem, the tech separates the algae into a sludge and pumps clean water back into the pond. It helps the farmers get rid of the algae which can be harmful to their fish by taking all the oxygen and then we dry the algae and turn it into bioplastics. We also source algae from anywhere that has a problem, we have algae from California, China, Jamaica… anywhere that has algae problems."
