{"id":71782,"date":"2020-02-19T07:38:04","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T06:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=71782"},"modified":"2020-02-14T14:10:37","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T13:10:37","slug":"u-of-t-researchers-turn-mcdonalds-deep-fryer-oil-into-high-end-3d-printing-resin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/u-of-t-researchers-turn-mcdonalds-deep-fryer-oil-into-high-end-3d-printing-resin\/","title":{"rendered":"U of T researchers turn McDonald’s deep fryer oil into high-end 3D printing resin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rajshree Biswas, a PhD student in the lab of U of T Scarborough Professor Andre Simpson, shows off biodegradable plastic butterflies made using a 3D printer and resin derived from McDonald’s waste cooking oil (photo by Don Campbell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough have, for the first time, turned waste cooking oil \u2013 from the deep fryers of a local\u00a0McDonald\u2019s\u00a0\u2013 into a high-resolution, biodegradable 3D printing resin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Using waste cooking oil for 3D printing\u00a0has significant potential. Not only is it\u00a0cheaper to make, the plastics made from it break down naturally unlike conventional 3D printing resins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reasons plastics are a problem is because nature hasn\u2019t evolved to handle human-made chemicals,\u201d says\u00a0Andre Simpson, a professor at U of T Scarborough\u2019s department of physical and environmental sciences who developed the resin in his lab.<\/p>\n

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The plastic butterfly printed from the researchers\u2019 cooking oil-derived resin showed features down to 100 micrometres and was structurally and thermally stable (photo by Don Campbell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBecause we\u2019re using what is essentially a natural product\u00a0\u2013\u00a0in this case fats from cooking oil\u00a0\u2013 nature can deal with it much better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simpson first became interested in the idea when he got a 3D printer about three years ago. After noting the molecules used in commercial resins were similar to fats found in cooking oils, he wondered whether one could be created using waste cooking oil.<\/p>\n

One challenge was finding old cooking oil from a restaurant\u2019s deep fryers to test in the lab. Despite contacting several major national fast food chains, the only one that responded was McDonald\u2019s. The oil used in the research was from one of the hamburger chain\u2019s\u00a0Scarborough restaurants.<\/p>\n

\"ProfessorSimpson (left) and his team used a straightforward one-step chemical process in the lab, using about one litre of used cooking oil to make 420 millilitres of resin. The resin was then used to print a plastic butterfly that showed features down to 100 micrometres\u00a0and was structurally and thermally stable, meaning it wouldn\u2019t crumble or melt above room temperature.\u201cWe found that McDonald\u2019s waste cooking oil has excellent potential as a 3D printing resin,\u201d says Simpson, an environmental chemist and director of the Environmental NMR Centre at U of T Scarborough.<\/p>\n

Used cooking oil is a major global environmental problem, with commercial and household waste causing serious environmental issues, including clogged sewage lines caused by the build-up of fats.<\/p>\n

While there are commercial uses for waste cooking oil, Simpson says there\u2019s a lack of ways to recycle it into a high value commodity such as a 3D printing resin. He adds that creating a high value commodity could remove some of the financial barriers with recycling waste cooking oil since many restaurants have to pay to dispose it.<\/p>\n

Conventional high-resolution resins can cost upwards of US$525 per litre because they\u2019re derived from fossil fuels and require several steps to produce. All but one of the chemicals used to make the resin in Simpson\u2019s lab can be recycled, meaning it could be made for as low as US$300 per tonne, which is cheaper than most plastics. It also cures solid in sunlight, opening up the possibility of pouring it as liquid and forming the structure on a work site.<\/p>\n

Another key advantage is biodegradability. The researchers found that burying a 3D-printed object made with their resin in soil lost 20 per cent of its weight in about two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you bury it in soil, microbes will start to break it down because essentially it\u2019s just fat,\u201d Simpson says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that microbes actually like to eat and they do a good job at breaking it down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results of the research are published in the journal\u00a0ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering<\/em><\/a>. Simpson received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Government of Ontario\u00a0and the Krembil Foundation.<\/p>\n

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