Printability of a Recycled Thermoplastic Obtained from a Chemical Recycling Process of a Fully-Recyclable Epoxy Matrix: An Upscaling Re-Use Strategy

This study presents an upscaling re-use strategy for a recycled thermoplastic which is obtained starting from a chemical recycling approach for a bio-based fully-recyclable epoxy resin system. The recycling approach used relies on the selective cleaving of the epoxy-cured network under mild conditions. The re-use strategy proposed in this work consists in the use of the recycled thermoplastic (rTP), as obtained at the end of the recycling process and without any additional treatments, as raw material for a 3D printing process falling within the material extrusion category. The used 3D printing technique relies on the use of a thermoplastic printhead equipped with a metallic cartridge, fillable with the rTP material, to which a suitable pressure value is applied in order to start the extrusion process. The recycled material is characterized through thermal and rheological analysis in order to find the correct printing conditions, such as extrusion temperature and pressure applied. Next, the printability of specimens having different type of infill is investigated and the µCT analysis is used to evaluate the quality of the 3D printed samples.