AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Evaluation of Particulate Matters and Total VOC Emissions from Binder Jetting 3D Printers
NIMA AFSHAR-MOHAJER, Chang-Yu Wu, Thomas Ladun, Didier Rajon, Yong Huang, University of Florida
Abstract Number: 9 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Binder jetting 3D printing is a popular type of additive manufacturing and a powerful tool for creating parts as well as prototypes, especially in medical research labs and architectural workshops. Due to continuous movement of dry powders inside printer chambers and injection of resin-like binder fluid during printing, binder jetting 3D printers are a potential emission source of fine particulate matters (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, real-time measurements of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) and aerosol (10 nm to 10 µm) during a 2-hr continuous operation of a binder jetting printer were incorporated into a time-varying mass balance model to obtain the emission rates. Results showed that the highest number- and mass-based particulate and gaseous concentrations corresponded to when the printer was just turned off and the top cover was removed for ejecting the printed object. The most emitting range of particle sizes was identified to be 205 to 407 nm. Time weighted average PM2.5 and PM10 and TVOC over a 24-hr period all exceeded the USEPA ambient air quality standards. Continuous operation of the 3D printer led to PM2.5 level 10 times greater than the standard (344 vs 35 µg/m3) and PM10 level 3 times higher than the standard (474.3 vs 150 µg/m3). TVOC concentrations with a maximum value of 1725 µg/m3 exceeded maximum allowable concentration levels of 500 and 300 µg/m3 almost throughout the printing task based on regulations set by the Environment institute of European Commission, and USGBC-LEED. As compared, ultrafine particles emitted from the binder jetting 3D printer was 104 to 105 times smaller than those from typical fused deposition modeling (FDM) type of 3D printers using PLA, but production of particles larger than 200 nm was significantly higher. The results suggest installing binder jetting 3D printers in an enclosure, implementing a proper overhead hood and/or operating the device next to well-ventilated structures for the better mitigation of the health risks.