Pretreatment studies and characterization of bio-degradable and 3D-printable filaments from coconut waste

Natural fiber based filaments are economic, environmental friendly and sustainable which enable them to be applied in the production of novel composite materials. This research aims to produce 3D printed filaments composed of Poly lactic acid (PLA) reinforced with 5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15wt% of coconut fiber (CF) and coconut shell powder (CSP). These fillers were alkaline and silane treated in order to enhance the thermal properties. These fillers were characterized by FTIR, SEM and TGA analysis. The SEM images show that there are structural changes in the fillers after successive treatments. TGA results shows enhancement of thermal stability for CF by 10 °C whereas decreased by 10 °C for CSP. These fillers are melt blended with PLA as a polymer matrix and extruded as filaments. The filament which is reinforced with CSP holds good for 3D printing whereas, the filaments reinforced with CF clogged during the process of 3D printing due to the large diameter of the filaments.