Printing Waste, Specifically Dissolvable Supports

Hi all,

One of the measures that Material Extrusion systems beat Photopolymer systems is handling of the excess, waste, reject, and raw material. There are services available to collect and recycle unwanted PLA, PETG, etc. As far as I am aware waste from photocured resin systems is landfill when fully cured and hazardous in its raw form.

I would like to have a go with using a support material, but I am concerned about how the waste product is handled. With Disolvable supports it seems that the waste is classed as chemical waste and there is no one looking into recivering the dissolved material and making it re-usable.

Have I missed something?

... no, it's common to "ignore" the requirements for proper handling "3D-print-waste" - it's mostly disposed "as normal"

One of the ideas in my project description for handling the catched "open-sea-waste" is to heat it in inert atmospere (autoclaved?), so it will be reduced to mainly charcoal -- this could be done here, on "mainland" with the collected plastic too ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

So after being dissolved (I think it is water for pvc and limonene for HIPS) the polymer is permanently destroyed and the resulting solution couldn't be dried and reformed nack to filament?

There would be significant and potentially toxic out gassing from that charcoaling process wouldn't there?

My bad, I think the water soluable material is PVA

... the "outgassing" inside the autoclaves should be treated with plasma or other methodes/measures to get all the nasty parts into an "inert" status like glass - this is part of "needed research" bits ...

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Fair enough! Read a few sites in the mean while and PLA is redarded as not hazardous to human consumption as it does not accumulate in the body. Still seems like a huge waste to me, single use and landfill.

... pure PLA is "not hazardous" ... but most PLA filaments are filled with dyes and additives -- and many (to all) of them are!!

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

Sorry I ment PVA.