Spirulina-based composites for 3D-printing

With material consumption increasing, the need for biodegradable materials derived from renewable resources becomes urgent, particularly in the popular field of 3D-printing. Processed natural fibers have been used as fillers for 3D-printing filaments and slurries, yet reports of utilizing pure biomass to 3D-print structures that reach mechanical properties comparable to synthetic plastics are scarce. Here, we develop and characterize slurries for extrusion-based 3D-printing comprised of unprocessed spirulina and varying amounts of cellulose fibers (CFs). Tuning the micro-morphology, density, and mechanical properties of multilayered structures is achieved by modulating the CF amount or drying method. Densified morphologies are obtained upon desiccator-drying, while oven incubation plasticizes the matrix and leads to intermediate densities. Freeze-drying creates low-density foam microstructures. The compressive strengths of the structures follow the same trend as their density. CFs are critical in the denser structures, as without the fibers, the samples do not retain their shape while drying. The compressive strength and strain to failure of the composites progressively increase with increasing filler content, ranging between 0.8 and 16 MPa and 12%–47%, respectively, at densities of 0.51–1.00 g/cm³. The measured properties are comparable to other biobased composites and commercial plastic filaments for 3D-printing.