There has been a development in the ability to 3D print PHA material.
PHA is a rare material in 3D printing, but it could be quite important. PHA has the unique ability to completely biodegrade, unlike all of the common 3D printed materials.
PLA, a very popular material, is often thought to be biodegradable, but in fact, it is not. It is merely bio-sourced and requires industrial equipment to actually break it down. Leftover 3D prints made in PLA will be a source of microplastics in the future. Meanwhile, you can literally toss a pure PHA object in the ocean and it will quickly dissolve away, safely.
Why isn’t PHA used more widely? It’s because it is challenging to 3D print, far more than most of the common materials.
Last year, I spoke with Fred Pinczuk of Beyond Plastic, a company that was attempting to promote the use of PHA. Unfortunately, Pinczuk wasn’t getting a lot of traction.
Now, Pinczuk is back with a partner in a new PHA venture called “Ecogenesis Biopolymers”. The company produces PHA materials, but with a difference. Pinczuk explains:
“We launched our new brand of PHA filament, a completely new formulation that we consider a third-generation material. An improvement on the known processing limitations of previous PHA filament, being the warping and print speeds. And re-introduced colours that are all fully biodegradable and certified.”
This material is provided in both filament and now pellet form, which will be useful for the increasing number of pellet-based machines (FGF).
Ecogenesis Biopolymers is also producing an unusual plant-based TPU product, which comes in either 95A or 60D hardness. This TPU is made from USDA-certified plant material and apparently functions identically to typical TPUs.
However, in spite of being made from biosources, the TPU does not degrade in the same way as their PHA materials. Pinczuk explains:
“The rate of degradation is slower than PHA’s, so we cannot expect to get a marine biodegradable certification at this time. Only home and industrial composting.”
Nevertheless, that’s an advantage over TPUs that never degrade.
If you’re interested in looking further into fully biodegradable PHA materials, you should contact Ecogenesis Biopolymers.
