Converting lignin into a 3D-printable resin

We report the conversion of lignin into a thermoplastic printable resin. Melt extrusion-based 3D-printability (also known as fused deposition modeling) of a polymer depends on several characteristics of the materials such as shear-rate dependent viscosity, thermal stability, and mechanical stiffness. This report summarizes our current approaches involving tailored lignin structures and their melting characteristics including rheological and thermal properties that are responsible for the material throughput and printability. Based on commercial printable materials, a window of viscosity and shear rate was determined for good printability. We tailored the lignin-based compounds' melt-rheology to match these criteria. For example, we demonstrate conversion of lignin to a new acrylonitrile-butadiene-lignin (ABL) resin followed by alloying with its styrenic counterpart ABS and delivering an outstanding printable material. The mechanical properties of the materials and their inter-layer adhesion are reported.