Searching for biological feedstock material: 3D printing of wood particles from house borer and drywood termite frass

Frass (fine powdery refuse or fragile perforated wood produced by the activity of boring insects) of larvae of the European house borer (EHB) and of drywood termites was tested as a natural and novel feedstock for 3D-printing of wood-based materials. Small particles produced by the drywood termite I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2021-02, Vol.16 (2), p.e0246511-e0246511
Main Authors: Plarre, Rudy, Zocca, Andrea, Spitzer, Andrea, Benemann, Sigrid, Gorbushina, Anna A, Li, Yuexuan, Waske, Anja, Funk, Alexander, Wilbig, Janka, Günster, Jens
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-D printers
3D printing
Additive manufacturing
Adhesive strength
Analysis
Anthropogenic factors
Biology and Life Sciences
Biosphere
Borers
By products
Cellulose
Control
Cryosphere
Densification
Engineering and technology
Feedstock
Human influences
Hydrosphere
Insects
Laboratories
Lignin
Lithosphere
Mechanical engineering
Particle size
Perturbation
Physical Sciences
Prevention
Properties
Raw materials
Systems engineering
Termites
Three dimensional printing
Wood composites
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Summary:Frass (fine powdery refuse or fragile perforated wood produced by the activity of boring insects) of larvae of the European house borer (EHB) and of drywood termites was tested as a natural and novel feedstock for 3D-printing of wood-based materials. Small particles produced by the drywood termite Incisitermes marginipennis and the EHB Hylotrupes bajulus during feeding in construction timber, were used. Frass is a powdery material of particularly consistent quality that is essentially biologically processed wood mixed with debris of wood and faeces. The filigree-like particles flow easily permitting the build-up of wood-based structures in a layer wise fashion using the Binder Jetting printing process. The quality of powders produced by different insect species was compared along with the processing steps and properties of the printed parts. Drywood termite frass with a Hausner Ratio HR = 1.1 with ρBulk = 0.67 g/cm3 and ρTap = 0.74 g/cm3 was perfectly suited to deposition of uniformly packed layers in 3D printing. We suggest that a variety of naturally available feedstocks could be used in environmentally responsible approaches to scientific material sciences/additive manufacturing.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0246511