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Characterization of Emissions from a Desktop 3D Printer
Author(s) -
Mendes Luís,
Kangas Anneli,
Kukko Kirsi,
Mølgaard Bjarke,
Säämänen Arto,
Kanerva Tomi,
Flores Ituarte Iñigo,
Huhtiniemi Marika,
StockmannJuvala Helene,
Partanen Jouni,
Hämeri Kaarle,
Eleftheriadis Konstantinos,
Viitanen AnnaKaisa
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.12569
Subject(s) - materials science , ultrafine particle , acrylonitrile butadiene styrene , particulates , extrusion , polylactic acid , particle (ecology) , particle size , polymer , plastics extrusion , nanoparticle , aerosol , environmental science , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering , oceanography , geology
Summary 3D printers are currently widely available and very popular among the general public. However, the use of these devices may pose health risks to users, attributable to air‐quality issues arising from gaseous and particulate emissions in particular. We characterized emissions from a low‐end 3D printer based on material extrusion, using the most common polymers: acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) and polylactic acid (PLA). Measurements were carried out in an emission chamber and a conventional room. Particle emission rates were obtained by direct measurement and modeling, whereas the influence of extrusion temperature was also evaluated. ABS was the material with the highest aerosol emission rate. The nanoparticle emission ranged from 3.7·10 8 to 1.4·10 9 particles per second (# s −1 ) in chamber measurements and from 2.0·10 9 to 4.0·10 9 # s −1 in room measurements, when the recommended extruder temperature was used. Printing with PLA emitted nanoparticles at the rate of 1.0·10 7 # s −1 inside the chamber and negligible emissions in room experiments. Emission rates were observed to depend strongly on extruder temperature. The particles’ mean size ranged from 7.8 to 10.5 nanometers (nm). We also detected a significant emission rate of particles of 1 to 3 nm in size during all printing events. The amounts of volatile organic and other gaseous compounds were only traceable and are not expected to pose health risks. Our study suggests that measures preventing human exposure to high nanoparticle concentrations should be adopted when using low‐end 3D printers.