Salt is the Key to Biodegradable 3D Prints

Salt-infused polymer 3D print in progress [Source: Wiley]

A team at the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry and the University of Kashmir have developed an unusual material and process for printing biodegradable objects.

Currently our environment is awash with plastic objects of all kinds, to the point where it is becoming dangerous. Small plastic disposable objects litter everywhere, and in some cases emit toxins that could cause harm in the future.

There are plenty of initiatives to reduce plastic pollution, including laws to make single-use plastic items illegal, or campaigns to use cardboard straws instead of plastic straws.

The problem is that once these items are discarded, it takes a very long time for them to degrade into the environment. Apparently a single plastic straw can take up to 200 years to complete disappear. Now imagine how many straws and similar items might be used over 200 years and you get the idea of how much plastic junk can accumulate.

One way to mitigate the situation is to simply reduce the use of such products, and that seems to be the way most jurisdictions are going.

However, there’s another way: change the material so that it degrades far more quickly.

That’s the subject of the researchers, and it appears they have succeeded in finding a way to do so.

Their approach was quite unique: they mixed in salt (NaCl) into a polymer ink that could be extruded via a syringe. This is a known method of 3D printing, although not particularly widespread.