Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689

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Applied Materials Today

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apmt

On the environmental impacts of 3D printing technology

Mohammad Reza Khosravani∗, Tamara Reinicke
Chair of Product Development, University of Siegen, Paul-Bonatz-Str. 9-11, 57068 Siegen, Germany

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The introduction of new materials is tied to the rapid development of manufacturing processes. Addi-
Received 31 January 2020 tive manufacturing (AM) has been employed to fabricate a solid three-dimensional (3D) part directly
Revised 30 March 2020
from a computer-aided design (CAD) data. AM is an industrial process that has been widely employed
Accepted 3 May 2020
in different industries in the past few years. In fact, this 3D printing is a rapid prototyping technology
that involves a series of techniques. Although several challenges and limitations exist in the AM pro-
Keywords: cess currently, AM is expected to revolutionize the manufacturing process of engineering components.
Additive manufacturing However, despite the numerous applications of AM techniques in various industries, their environmental
Environmental impact impacts are not well documented. AM affords significant changes in production cost, energy consumption,
Energy consumption
and manufacturing lead times. All these issues have been considered to develop this technology to have
3D printing
higher efficiencies and lower environmental impacts. In this paper, we briefly review AM methods and
discuss their environmental impacts. Furthermore, we present the main advantages and disadvantages of
AM processes involving polymers. It can be concluded that AM is advantageous in some cases, exhibiting
lower energy consumption and comprising shorter manufacturing processes. The analysis and discussion
indicate the advantages, limitations, and future research directions for the industrial applications of AM.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction tomotive [3,4], aerospace [5,6], electronics [7,8], dentistry [9,10],

and medicine [11,12]. In AM, various materials can be used ow-
Manufacturing processes have been continuously developing ing to their wide range of mechanical and chemical properties.
from conceptualization to actual methods suitable for the fabrica- For example, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid
tion of complex products. In traditional manufacturing, fabrication (PLA), nylon, polycarbonate, and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) have been
refers to the process where the raw materials are converted into used in different AM processes [13–17]. This multimaterial printing
the final product. However, manufacturing is currently defined as can be considered as a basic pillar for the development of future
an integrated concept with production phases. In this context, var- technologies. The industrial applications of 3D printing proves that
ious new concepts are introduced with fewer constraints on design the list of materials employed in this technique increases contin-
and production. Additive manufacturing (AM), nanotechnology and ually. The worldwide consumption of 3D printing systems, materi-
next level robotics are examples of processes that are revolutioniz- als software, and related issues is expected to result in an annual
ing manufacturing technology. growth of 22.3% in the next few years [18]. Moreover, IDTechEx
AM, also known as three-dimensional (3D) printing technol- forecasts that the worldwide market for 3D printing materials will
ogy, was introduced as a rapid prototyping method that can be be worth $23 billion by the year 2029 [19], demonstrating a sig-
used for different materials. As the name indicates, AM refers to nificant potential growth opportunity over the next decade. Con-
adding raw materials during manufacturing, which includes var- sidering this significant growth, various investigations must be per-
ious assembly and rapid prototyping processes [1]. According to formed in this field, such as intelligent manufacturing in AM, waste
the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) and the Interna- materials in 3D printing, occupational health, resource planning
tional Organization for Standardization (ISO), AM is defined as the and environmental impacts of the AM technique.
“process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, Although various engineering aspects have been studied con-
usually layer upon layer” [2]. However, currently, AM techniques cerning of 3D printing over the years [20–31], literature review
are being significantly utilized in various applications, such as au- indicates that the environmental impacts of 3D printing are not
well documented. In a study of the environmental impacts of AM
processes, several aspects can be considered. For instance, en-
∗
Corresponding author. ergy consumption, product life cycle, waste materials, water foot-
E-mail address: mohammadreza.khosravani@uni-siegen.de (M.R. Khosravani). print, global warming potential and air pollution can be recognized

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmt.2020.100689
2352-9407/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689

as primary issues concerning the environmental impacts of AM.

The environmental impacts of AM depend on different parameters,
such as the typical process and utilized material.
With respect to the significant growth of AM, different research
projects have been concluded worldwide to ensure progress. The
US has developed an energy assessment model for AM to compare
the energy consumptions in AM and conventional manufacturing
processes [32]. Moreover, a large project has been defined in the
European Union (EU) i.e., “Additive Manufacturing Aiming Towards
Zero Waste & Efficient Production of High-Tech Metal Products”
[33]. In detail, the EU project comprised partners from industry
and academia and aimed to produce large defect-free AM metal-
lic components with close to zero waste. Consequently, an origi-
nally shaped metal part lighter than the original component has
been manufactured [34]. In [35], 3D printing was considered as an
environmentally friendly manufacturing process. In fact, it was re-
ported that a specific AM process indicates an improvement in en-
ergy efficiency, which results in a clean and healthy environment.
Recently, in [36], different materials for paste extrusion printing Fig. 1. A schematic of BJ process.
have been tested to determine the environmental impacts of AM.
In this context, water-based pastes that can be bonded chemically
at room temperature were prepared. The researchers, conducted a tioned categories and examples of AM processes are summarized
series of compression and tensile tests and claimed that the print- in Table 1.
ing energy and embodied impacts of the materials were reduced Currently, polymers, aluminum and steel alloys, various com-
by 75% and 82%, respectively. Additionally, an environmental as- posites and ceramics are printable with minimum layer thicknesses
sessment of AM in the automotive industry was discussed in [37]. of 20–100 μm depending on the physical state of the material and
In detail, a life cycle assessment was used in metal 3D printing, the AM process [43]. This ability to work with a wide range of ma-
and the results indicated that utilizing low-impact feedstock mate- terials, along with the few limitations in the fabrication of com-
rials and technological development resulted in environmental im- plex geometries, have proven to be advantages of the AM com-
provements. Moreover, it was concluded that the lightweight com- pared with conventional processes. However, multiple options are
ponents should be considered as a main factor in reducing energy available in terms of fabrication speed, layer thickness, resolution
consumption. and material selection in each AM method. In the following sec-
Despite process improvements, current technological limita- tions, the environmental impacts of different AM processes are dis-
tions, lack of suitable metrics, and shortages of standards for cussed; herein, we briefly review these methods.
environmental impact assessment must be considered as barri-
ers in advanced manufacturing via AM. The aim of the present 2.1. Binder jetting
manuscript is to gather, categorize, and analyze information on the
environmental effects of AM. Hence, we outline both the positive Binder jetting was first developed at the Massachusetts Insti-
and negative environmental effects of AM processes, which should tute of Technology. Two years later, in 1995, the Z cooperation ob-
be considered for further developments. In this study, the environ- tained an exclusive license for the process. In the subsequent year,
mental impacts of AM were investigated considering three aspects: the ExOne company was granted a patent [44,45]. In BJ process,
(a) energy consumption, (b) waste materials, and (c) air pollution. layer of material are bonded to form a desired component. Indeed,
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: in Section 2 an powder particles are jointed together via selectively depositing a
overview of the AM processes is presented. Section 3 describes the liquid bonding agent. In BJ, the three-dimensional component is
environmental impacts of AM processes that use polymeric mate- fabricated by gluing the particles. A schematic of BJ process is il-
rials. Moreover, some technical suggestions are presented. Finally, lustrated in Fig. 1. As the printed components are composed of
a short summary in Section 4 concludes the paper. bound powder, an infiltration during post processing is needed. BJ
has been used for fabrication of multicolor parts, but the printed
parts suffer in terms of mechanical properties. Large build volume,
2. Overview of additive manufacturing processes high print speed, easy post processing are advantages of BJ pro-
cess. As molds and machining are not needed in this technique, BJ
AM is a relatively new technology that was developed in the is a relatively low cost process. This AM technique can be used for
1980s, and has been used extensively in industry and academic in- individual parts, small series, and the serial production of complex
stitutes in the last few years. In 1984, the first 3D printer was fab- components.
ricated by Charles W. Hull [38]; however, the employed technology More than two decades after the invention of BJ, this AM
was expensive and not feasible initially. Nevertheless, owing to ad- method has been employed for the fabrication of components with
vances and cost reductions in the current century, AM has been a wide range of materials and dimensions in various commercial
applied in various fields and is expected to become prevalent as applications.
home use in a few years.
3D and standard inkjet printers share a few similarities. How- 2.2. Material extrusion
ever, a 3D printer requires a few additional steps to use the materi-
als required and create a 3D component. Based on the ASTM stan- Material extrusion technology was developed by Scott Crump in
dard, AM processes can be classified into seven categories: binder 1989 and patented as fused deposition modeling (FDM) [46]. Cur-
jetting (BJ), material extrusion (ME), directed energy deposition rently, FDM 3D printing is the most popular method for the fab-
(DED), material jetting (MJ), sheet lamination (SL), powder bed fu- rication of polymer composites. In FDM, a raw material is pushed
sion (PBF), and vat photo polymerization (VP) [39–42]. The men- out through a nozzle while a pressure is applied. In this process,
 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689 3

Table 1
Classification of AM processes based on ASTM standards.

Material Direct energy Sheet Powder bed Vat photo

Binder jetting extrusion deposition Material jetting lamination fusion polymerization

Voxeljet Fused Laser Stratasys’ Laminated Selective Laser

Deposition Engineered Net Polyjet Object Sintering Stereolithography
Modeling Shaping Manufacturing Apparatus
ExOne - - 3D System’s MCor’s A4 Selective Laser Digital Light
Mult-Jet Paper Printing Melting Processing
Printing
Color Jet Printing - - Solidscape Kira’ Paper Electron Beam -
Lamination Melting
Tech.

Table 2
Pros and cons of material extrusion technique.

Process Advantages Disadvantages

Material Low initial cost Visible layer lines

extrusion Small equipment size Poor part strength
Low temperature process Nozzle radius limits
Acceptable printing tolerance High surface roughness
Easy and user-friendly method Temperature fluctuation issues
Wide range of printing materials Support material and structures

Fig. 2. Different categories of DED process.

a spool of thermoplastic filament must be melted and extruded or wire is sued in a multi-axis arm. Indeed, in DED the feed sup-
through a high temperature nozzle. In fact, layers have been cre- ply is not limited to a specific axis. Hence, in a DED printer there
ated by extruding molten material onto substrate. It is necessary is a nozzle head which can move around a fixed object in differ-
to bind the material with previous material in order to produce a ent directions. In the manufacturing process, when the first layer
solid component. In the FDM process, different thermoplastic ma- is deposited, the nozzle and energy source are moved to deposit
terials such as ABS, nylon, PLA, and polycarbonate can be used. Ac- the next layer.
cording to applications of the FDM process, its capability of high- DED involves rapid cooling rates and has been primarily used
speed printing has been proven in comparison with other AM tech- to print metal matrix composites and functionally graded materi-
niques [47–50]. In Table 2 pros and cons of ME as one of the AM als. Adding coating to existing surfaces, repairing components and
processes is summarized. printing durable metal parts are advantages of the DED [53–55]. In
Advances in technology and new material developments enable DED, both powder and wire feedstock materials can be used.
us to prepare carbon fiber and metallic particles in filaments suit-
able for AM, which can revolutionize the ME process. 2.4. Material jetting

2.3. Directed energy deposition Material jetting is a relatively new and advanced AM process
that is similar to a two-dimensional ink jet printer. The MJ process
One of the more complex 3D printing processes is directed en- uses an array of nozzles to selectively deposit material which is
ergy deposition, which is typically utilized to repair existing parts. cured by a broad area energy source. In detail, in this AM method
DED 3D printing is a metal 3D printing process that was devel- a continuous or drop on demand approach can be used and the
oped in the last century and includes different techniques, such as liquid droplets are deposited on the working plate in order to par-
laser engineered net shaping (LENS), direct light fabrication (DLF), tially soften the previous layer of material, and solidify as one part.
laser solid forming (LSF), and wire + Arc AM (WAAM) [51,52]. In Finally, the object must be detached from the building platform,
Fig. 2 different DED categories with respect to feedstock and en- and the support material needs to be removed [56]. Support ma-
ergy source are illustrated. In DED process, a concentrated heat terial are necessary elements which are temporary during printing
source is employed which can be a plasma arc, laser or electron process and usually should be removed at the end of the fabrica-
beam. This melts the material deposited by a nozzle in the form tion process. The MJ method can be used to print a component
of powder or wire. In comparison, DED process is similar to ME, with high resolution. In fact, the minimum resolution volume of
but in DED technique the nozzle supplying the material particles the MJ fabrication process is equal to the volume of one drop. In
4 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689

Fig. 3. Classification of main categories in SL process based on bonding mechanism.

Table 3
Pros and cons of material jetting method.

Process Advantages Disadvantages

Material Low waste High cost

jetting High resolution Slow printing process
Multiple materials High dimensional accuracy
Multiple print heads Poor mechanical properties
High quality surface Support materials and structures

this regard, MJ method provides droplet and layer sizes smaller

than 100 microns. This capability is beneficial in the fabrication
of medical models. Currently, photopolymers (in liquid form) and
casting wax are the most commonly used materials in MJ. Advan-
tages and disadvantages of MJ process are summarized in Table 3.
Owing to recent advances in MJ for printing electronic circuits,
different electronic components, such as capacitors, transistors, and
inductors have been fabricated by MJ [57]. However, utilizing MJ to
fabricate circuit boards simplifies the manufacturing process com- Fig. 4. A schematic of powder bed fusion process.
pared with conventional methods.

2.5. Sheet lamination layer, the powder material must be spread over the previous layer
[61,62]. For spreading of the powder material, a roller or a blade
Feygin and Pakat at Helisys Inc. introduced the sheet lamina- under different mechanisms can be used. A schematic of the PBF
tion technique in 1991 [58]. In the sheet lamination process, thin process is illustrated in Fig. 4. Sintering and melting are the main
sheets of materials are bonded layer by layer to produce a com- binding mechanisms in PBF technique. It should be noted that
ponent, which is then cut into the required object. Each sheet can binding mechanism has a significant influence on the fabrication
be considered as one of the cross sectional layer of the compo- speed and final part properties. Selective laser melting, selective
nent. In SL, material sheets can be cut by laser or combined with laser sintering, and electron beam melting are the most estab-
ultrasonic. There are two main categories of this AM method: (a) lished and prominent PBF processes, which have been widely used
laminated objective manufacturing (LOM), and (b) ultrasonic addi- in academia and industry for the 3D printing of metallic compo-
tive manufacturing (UAM). In LOM adhesives are utilized for lam- nents [63]. PBF technology has been extensively used worldwide in
ination, while in UAM ultrasonic bonding is employed to laminate the automobile, aerospace, and biomedical industries for fabricat-
sheets together. In Fig. 3 classification of LOM and UAM based on ing components from metal, ceramic, and plastic [64]. All materials
bonding mechanism is depicted. The SL process can be used for that can be melted and resolidified, can theoretically be utilized in
various materials, for instance: polymer, paper, ceramic and metal. PBF techniques.
A suitable method must be used to bind the sheets of each ma- One of the main advantages of the PBF process is that a sup-
terial. Low cost, high speed and ease of material handling are ad- port structure is not required for the polymeric components man-
vantages of the SL process. The primary disadvantage of this AM ufactured by this AM method. In fact, because the powder acts
process is its inability in printing complex geometries. Moreover, as an integrated support structure, PBF does not require support
the SL method yield a poor to average resolution. structures, which can increase the design freedom. Moreover, this
The SL technique has been used in various fields, such as the technique is inexpensive and suitable for prototypes. Size limita-
ceramic industry, civil engineering, medicine, and foundry technol- tion, high power consumption, and relatively low-speed printing
ogy [59]. New variations of the SL methods include other materials, are considered as disadvantages of this AM process.
different bonding techniques, and new cutting processes. These can
result in more important roles for the SL process in the fabrication 2.7. Vat photo polymerization
of various engineering components.
The first commercial AM that utilized the vat photo polymeriza-
2.6. Powder bed fusion tion process or stereolithography (SLA) was developed by Charles
(Chuck) Hull, who was the co-founder of 3D Systems. The first
As powder bed fusion was developed in the mid-1980s, it is printer relying on an ultraviolet (UV) laser was commercialized in
recognized as one of the first commercialized AM processes [60]. 1987, and it was used to fabricate a solid 3D part by curing one
In PBF, a thermal source (e.g., laser) is used to induce fusion layer over the previous layer [65,66]. Indeed, UV laser was used
between the powder particles. In detail, after the scanning of a to cure photosensitive resin point-by-point to make a component
 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689 5

Table 4
Advantages and disadvantages of vat photo polymerization technique.

Process Advantages Disadvantages

Vat photo High precision Poor durability

polymerization High resolution Fragility of parts
Excellent part quality Mechanical failure
Smooth printed surface Material limitations
Relatively quick process Support material and structures

based on a CAD file. The two most common kinds of VP tech-

nologies are: (a) SLA printing, where a high-powered laser is em-
ployed for hardening of liquid resin, and (b) digital light processing
(DLP), where LED projectors are utilized to polymerize the layers. It
should be noted that continuous liquid interface production (CLIP)
is one of the most advanced forms of VP technique which is sig-
nificantly faster than SLA method. The resolution of the final prod-
uct in the VP process can reach 200 nm with an excellent surface
finish [67]. Although the VP technique can be used for the man-
ufacturing of large-sized components, this AM process has some
drawbacks. In Table 4 some advantages and disadvantages of the
VP process are presented.
The VP method has been used by several research institutes
over the years [68–70], and different companies have pursued this Fig. 5. Different aspects in environmental impacts of AM processes.
AM process for various applications [71–73]. For instance, German
manufacturer Nanoscribe developed a two-photon polymerization cesses. The available LCA data on AM processes and post processes
process in which a laser directs two photons of near-infrared light have been used in the current study.
at a photo-polymer resin [74]. However, VP techniques are con-
tinuously evolving to satisfy different engineering and medical de- 3.1. Energy consumption
mands.
In the investigation on environmental impacts of the manufac-
3. Environmental impacts of additive manufacturing processes turing process, the efficient use of energy is considered to be a
key factor. Electrical energy appears to be the largest environmen-
In the development of manufacturing processes, various as- tal impact of AM processes. In mass production, AM requires more
pects, such as concept evaluation, equipment maintenance, and electrical energy in comparison with the injection molding pro-
environmental concerns must be considered. Although production cess; however, this does not apply for sample production [92]. It is
processes affect the environment, clean production, manufacturing noteworthy that energy consumption depends on various parame-
with low environmental impacts, and green products are impor- ters:
tant topics in production process developments [75–79]. However,
• Material:
all manufacturing processes consume energy, utilize materials, and
Currently, various materials can be utilized in AM processes. As
release pollutants. The same applies to AM technologies.
different materials have various densities and heat capacities,
Currently, the life cycle assessment (LCA) and design for envi-
different energies are required in fabrication via AM processes.
ronment (DFE) are two methods used to assess the environmental
Hence, utilizing low-temperature materials present lower en-
impacts of production processes [80,81]. Moreover, other methods
ergy consumption.
have been proposed to evaluate environmental impacts of different
• Build volume:
manufacturing processes over the years [82–84]. Although appli-
This parameter determines the number of components that can
cations of AM technologies have increased substantially in recent
be printed simultaneously on a specific 3D printing machine.
years, suitable metrics and appropriate standards for the environ-
Therefore, printers capable of parallel manufacturing and those
mental impact assessment of AM processes are insufficient. Hence,
that can print more components at once are classified under
previous investigations have resulted in different conclusions [85–
higher energy-efficiency printers.
88]. For instance, in [89], it is reported that AM does not offer
• Layer thickness:
any environmental benefits in the fabrication of high-speed gear,
Low layer thickness is one of the criteria in the fabrication of
whereas in [90], it is concluded that AM demonstrates positive en-
high-quality surfaces. This can be achieved by low-speed print-
vironmental benefits in printing cement-based composites.
ing, which results in a higher energy consumption. Moreover, a
The environmental and health impacts of the AM process are
low layer thickness results in a larger total number of layers in
discussed in a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foun-
the printed components, which increases the energy consump-
dation on October 2014 [91]. In this context, ideas regarding AM
tion.
and its environmental impacts and occupational health have been
• Process speed:
discussed. Many factors affect the environmental impacts of AM
In AM techniques, different process speeds are achievable. Ad-
processes. For instance, layer thickness, process time, and material
ditionally, other parameters such as material and thickness af-
type are important factors affecting the environmental assessment
fect the printing speed. In all AM processes, more energy is
of AM technologies. In the present study, we discuss three aspects
consumed during the longer process, and fast printing reduces
of the environmental impacts of AM: (a) energy consumption, (b)
energy consumption.
waste management, and (c) air pollution (see Fig. 5).
The comparison and analysis of the environmental impacts of In various AM processes, other relevant factors should be con-
AM techniques depend on the availability of LCA data for the pro- sidered to compare the energy consumption. For instance, pow-
6 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689

Fig. 6. LCA for energy analysis in FDM process.

Table 5 has influence on the energy consumption. The documented data

Energy consumption in various AM processes.
proved that new models are typically more efficient. It is note-
Process Material Machine Energy (KWh/kg) Ref. worthy that the specifications of the parts are not identical in the
PBF Metallic powder EOSINT M250 710 [85] different processes. For example, the lifetime of a part that is pro-
Polyamide Vanguard HiQ 15 [97] duced by the VP process is limited compared to that by production
EOSINT P760 40 [98] via a PBF process. This important issue should be considered for a
VP Epoxy SLA 250 33 [99] reliable analysis.
resin SLA 3000 41
Here, we conclude that because of the sustainability of AM,
SLA 5000 21
FDM ABS FDM 1650 346 [99] which depends on different parameters, a general statement re-
plastic FDM 2000 116 garding the energy consumption of AM processes cannot be made.
FDM 8000 23 Therefore, utilizing an LCA database is necessary for further re-
search.

der density has a significant effect on energy consumption in the 3.2. Waste materials
PBF process. In the investigation of energy consumption in AM
processes, different aspects have been considered. For example, in As waste material significantly affect the environment, it has
[93], it is reported that most 3D printing machines are not well garnered increasing attention in recent years. Currently, global
designed for efficient energy consumption. Subsequently, in [94], it waste generation is approximately 1.3 billion tons per year and
is confirmed that reducing the weight of the printing part is key is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tons by 2025 [100]. Mate-
factor in reducing energy consumption. rial waste management 3D printing can be classified into two cate-
Consumed energy can be considered in three main phases: (a) gories: (a) using recycled materials in 3D printers, and (b) recycling
pre-heating or machine warm up, (b) printing process, and (c) waste materials produced in 3D printing processes. Both of these
cooling process. Utilizing high technology in these phases can re- activities can significantly reduce the overall environmental impact
duce energy usage; however, a lack of energy-related data hinders of AM. Owing to changes in the material properties post-printing,
the progress in this field. As the cooling system is crucial in en- the recycling of all types of waste materials in AM is ambiguous;
ergy consumption, it is reported in [95] that a highly efficient en- however, recycling systems for 3D printers is an interesting topic
ergy system can be achieved by improving the cooling system by currently.
integrating cooling channels into the structure. Different waste materials can be reused to fabricate new com-
In the evaluation and analysis of energy consumption in various ponents. To utilize recycled materials in AM processes, polymeric
AM processes, utilizing the LCA methodology is necessary and ben- waste can be recycled and used. In fact, various polymers, such
eficial; however, LCA studies in this field are still rare. For instance, as low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene
in [96], an LCA was performed to compare the environmental im- (HDPE) can be recycled and used. Currently, not only LDPE and
pact of CNC milling and FDM process. However, to obtain compre- HDPE, but also high stiffness polymers, such as polypropylene, PLA
hensive information, different experiments are required, and com- and ABS have been recycled via recycling techniques. In fact, these
plete data for an LCA has to be accumulated over time. LCA for materials have been successfully recycled into filaments [101]. As
energy analysis in FDM processes is depicted in Fig. 6. In this con- filaments can be used for the 3D printing of polymeric structures,
text, the FDM process is divided into three steps, and each of the this type of recycling can avoid the waste of several millions of US
steps involved different energy consumption processes. The heavy dollars per year.
and medium energy consumers are represented with red and blue Plastic waste is sorted according to its resin identification code.
, respectively. The rest can be considered as light energy consump- Considering the numerous applications of AM processes and the
tion process. increasing demand of 3D printing technology, a recycling code for
The unit kWh/kg is utilized to compare energy consumptions. 3D printed parts should be added. In fact, increasing the plas-
In Table 5 the energy consumption of different AM processes is tic material waste generated from different MA processes can
presented. cause difficulties, especially when complex printing is performed.
Regarding to the data summarized in Table 5 we conclude that In Fig. 7 the proposed recycling process for AM technology is illus-
not only type of material, but also type of 3D printing machine trated. In this context, recycled material is categorized according
 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689 7

Fig. 7. The recommended recycling process of waste material in AM.

Table 6
Resin identification code based on ASTM D7611.

Recycling No. Material Applications

1 Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) Thermoformed sheet polyester fibers

2 High-density polyethylene (HDPE) Agricultural pipes playground equipment
3 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Pipis, floring children’s toy
4 Low-density polyethylene, (LDPE) Plastic bags, containers laboratory equipment
5 Polypropylene (PP) Industrial fibers, auto parts food containers
6 Polystyrene (PS) Plastic utensils packaging peanuts
7 Other plastics (O) Bottles, headlight lenses safety glasses

to the resin code and then cut into flakes. The flakes can be uti- minimum support, and eliminating additional supports can signifi-
lized as raw material in filament extruders. The produced filaments cantly reduce waste materials.
must be evaluated via technical standards to guarantee their qual- Although the recycling of waste materials have advanced, limi-
ity. tations still exist that prevent fast developments in recycling waste
A comparison of AM and traditional manufacturing processes materials from 3D printing technologies, including the lack of stan-
indicates that AM techniques require highly specific feedstock ma- dards in material and quality control. Moreover, missing technical
terials. This special requirement necessitates specific and addi- data and skill sharing are crucial factors affecting the recycling of
tional steps in material preparation which results in additional en- 3D printing waste. Further studies should be conducted to obtain
vironmental impacts. Meanwhile, utilizing recyclable materials in key solutions for recycling waste materials at home, which can sig-
AM processes contribute positively to the environment. nificantly improve the sustainability of 3D printing technology.
In utilizing recycled materials for 3D printers, a filament man-
ufactured from up to 95% of recycled plastic can be realized 3.3. Air pollution
[102]. As plastic is melted, chemical bonds between the plastic
molecules are destroyed and become weaker. Therefore, adding a Air pollution has become a worldwide issue and has garnered
small amount of original plastic facilitates significantly in produc- significant attention over the last several decades. In terms of the
ing a strong material through recycling. As mentioned previously, role of AM in air pollution, two primary subdomains exist: (a) air
waste materials should be categorized according to their resin pollution that is produced by AM processes; (b) reduction of air
identification code, and this sorting is an important step in the re- pollution in manufacturing using AM. A large portion of industrial
cycling process. Under the ASTM resin identification code [103], a pollution is generated in the manufacturing of components from
set of symbols is available on plastic products to identify plastic raw materials [104]. In detail, 19% of the world’s greenhouse gas
resins. Its original form is represented by arrows cycling clockwise emissions is related to manufacturing processes [105]. Therefore,
and make a triangle that encloses a number. The number denotes the air pollution from these processes must be controlled via uti-
the type of plastic utilized in the product. In Table 6 some details lizing the appropriate and most suitable technologies. Air pollution
of ASTM resin identification code are presented. varies according to manufacturing processes. Because of the in-
Recycling waste polymeric materials and converting them to us- creasing application of AM technologies in academic and industrial
able filaments can be divided into two main steps: (a) cutting the sectors, their role in creating air pollution has become a crucial is-
waste materials into small pieces; (b) melting and extruding with sue. Hence, the effects of desktop 3D printers on air pollution has
a suitable filament extruder. Although the first step appears to be been investigated [106–108]; in fact, the effects of AM processes
easy, it remains difficult in several cases. In fact, cutting large com- on air pollution has been evaluated in special case studies or dis-
ponents requires an expensive industrial shredder. Even though 3D cussed in specific situations.
printing waste can be recycled, the best method is to prevent the The extrusion process of thermoplastics generates particles and
generation of waste. In this context, designing components with volatile organic compounds (VOC); some of them are dangerous
8 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689

and cause harm to the environment and human health. In fact, high energy saving (fuel) in aviation industry. As reported in [118],
they can pose potential health risk of workers. Hence, during the based on the 3D printing market, CO2 emissions of 130.5–525.5
operation process, personal protective masks and clothing should Mt can be avoided by 2025. Hence, fuel consumption in the avia-
be used. VOC emission can be related to the thermal degradation tion industry possesses the largest reduction potential via AM. Al-
of polymers and additives. Because many desktop 3D printers are though raw materials must be transported in manufacturing via 3D
based on heated thermoplastic extrusion, they can be considered printing, the long-distance transport of the final product will be re-
potentially hazardous for certain indoor environments. In this re- duced owing to mini-factories and local print shops. Additionally,
gard, some research studies have been performed and VOC emis- because of the increasing applications of AM, less air cargo is ex-
sions have been analyzed from different AM processes, such as BJ pected as components can be fabricated when and where they are
and FDM [109–113]; however, no standard test method exist, dif- required. This results in a decrease in CO2 emissions, which can be
ferent results have been reported. A standardized experimental in- regarded as an indirect effect of AM technology in improving air
vestigation and analysis is required to compare the results of dif- quality.
ferent studies. Several parameters affect particle emissions: (a) fil- Based on the discussed environmental impacts of AM processes,
ament material, (b) extruder temperature, (c) filament color, (d) important factors, attributes and parameters must be considered in
build plate heating, and (e) printer model. reducing the environmental impact of AM processes. A few recom-
During different AM processes, particulate matter, gaseous ma- mendations as presented below.
terial, and nano particles can be emitted which poses potential
health risks [114,115]. To determine the emissions of these mate-
rials from different 3D printing techniques, a series of experimen- • Although the fabrication of the parts via 3D printing technology
tal practices is required. Based on the results reported in [116], has lower environmental impacts in many cases, some com-
FDM can be hazardous because of the high concentration of emit- ponent geometries can be fabricated more efficiently via tradi-
ted nanoparticles and aldehydes. It is noteworthy that the particles tional manufacturing processes. Hence, selecting an appropriate
emitted during AM processes are nanosized and primarily emit- manufacturing method is the first step in optimizing environ-
ted at the early stage of the printing process. To reduce these mental impacts.
emissions, some suggestions have been proposes, e.g., preparing • As LCA provides a quantitative comparison, LCAs should be
enclosed printers, using a ventilation system, and utilizing high- performed for manufacturing processes and different AM tech-
efficiency particulate air filters. Because 3D printers are currently niques. This may provide more insights and single-source met-
used in small enterprises, startups, and classrooms, finding solu- rics, in which different effects are normalized. Through a com-
tions and strategies to reduce health risks in AM processes are ne- prehensive comparison between traditional manufacturing pro-
cessitated. A comparison between AM technology and traditional cesses and AM, users can understand the priorities.
manufacturing processes revealed that AM processes utilize fewer • Because the type of AM process has an important effect on
harmful chemical materials; however, AM techniques must be used energy consumption, in parts fabrication, an appropriate AM
carefully, and further investigations are required to determine the method must be used to reduce energy consumption. In other
toxicity and dangerous effects of VOC in AM processes. words, some processes are more efficient (e.g., SLA). Moreover,
In the subdomain of air pollution reduction using AM, direct printers based on FDM can be used to fabricate hollow compo-
and indirect effects must be considered. Utilizing nontoxic ther- nents, which reduces energy consumption.
moplastic materials can be considered as an example of the direct • The processing parameters (e.g., layer thickness) and opera-
effect of AM in the reduction of air pollution. Manufacturing com- tional parameters (e.g., part orientation) are crucial in the en-
ponents closer to the consumer’s location can reduce transporta- vironmental impact of 3D printing technology. Therefore, a set
tion, and an improved carbon footprint is an indirect benefit of AM of suitable operational parameters and optimized process pa-
technology in reducing air pollution. rameters can result in a significant reduction in environmental
In AM processes, a wide range of commercially available non- impacts.
toxic thermoplastic materials can be used to reduce air pollution • As the chance of a print failing increases when several print-
directly. Several parameters and key factors such as material me- ings are performed simultaneously FDM, the simultaneous 3D
chanical properties, appearance and cost must be considered in the printings of many components should be avoided. This can re-
development of printable materials. Based on material develop- duce unnecessary waste materials significantly. However, print-
ments, different organic and biodegradable materials are currently ing several parts simultaneously can be performed based on
utilized in AM processes. As these types of materials are eco- personal expertise and printing facilities.
friendly, they can offer environmental benefits. Bio-based polymers • Regarding the continuing rapid growth of AM, studies regard-
require a lower temperature during the printing process, which re- ing the health impact of air pollution from AM processes must
sults in a reduction in energy consumption. Biopolymer filaments be performed before 3D printers become more accessible in
are biodegradable, nontoxic and offer financial advantages. In addi- homes. This would enable adaptations at an early stage. More-
tion, because most of these materials can be prepared locally, spe- over, because the toxicological hazards of 3D printing have not
cial skills are not required; therefore, they can be applied more been sufficiently investigated, further studies are necessitated
widely in the near future. Plastics are not the only materials uti- in this context.
lized in 3D printing processes; therefore, perfect green cities and • To compare various results of air pollution measurements of 3D
more livable environments are expected. printers, a standard testing method is required that can deter-
AM has been used increasingly by consumers and can revo- mine indoor air quality. Moreover, we believe that a wide range
lutionize the transport industry. Although existing studies do not of desktop 3D printers should be considered to evaluate their
provide comprehensive data on the effect of AM on logistics and effects on indoor environments.
transportation, the fabrication of parts closer to consumer loca- • The effects of AM processes on the environment can be reduced
tions can significantly affect transportation. In the current study, by applying different strategies. For example, (a) using a 3D
we focused on the 3D printing of polymeric components; there- printer with the lowest waste material, (b) utilizing recyclable
fore, we refer to [117], which states that owing to the application feedstock, (c) providing a system to return waste materials to
of AM technology in the fabrication of metallic aerospace compo- the supplier, and (d) refining the 3D printer setup to achieve
nents, lightweight design are highly desired, as they can result in the best quality and minimize waste material.
 M.R. Khosravani and T. Reinicke / Applied Materials Today 20 (2020) 100689 9

• AM processes can revolutionize the transportation industry be- Declaration of Competing Interest
cause then manufacturing can be shifted from centralized fac-
tories to consumers’ homes. Therefore, the effects of AM pro- The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cesses on transportation should be investigated in the context cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
of reducing environmental impacts. influence the work reported in this paper.
• Utilizing green materials in AM can significantly reduce the en-
vironmental impacts of this manufacturing method. Currently,
green materials for AM processes are limited; however, they Acknowledgments
can be further developed by policy or development funding.
This opportunity can result in a major reduction in environ- This work as part of the project “Smart Production Design
mental impacts. Center” (SmaP) is funded by the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) under the program OP EFRE NRW 2014-2020 (EFRE-
Considering the above mentioned suggestions, we believe that a 0200545).
series of comprehensive comparison studies can significantly help
users with the purchase of the technology. Moreover, based on fair
comparisons, the manufacturers of 3D printers will be more in-
formed regarding the advantages and priorities of their systems,
thereby enabling environmental impacts to be reduced. Additional
studies should be performed to establish specific targets for im- References
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