3D Printing of Bio-Based Building Materials
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Bio-based Building Materials 2021
Māris Šinka, Jelizaveta Zoriča, Genādijs Šahmenko, Diāna Bajāre

The construction industry is one of the largest emitters of CO2 because the production of traditional building materials is highly energy-intensive and uses considerable amounts of raw materials. This research aims to decrease the negative environmental impact of the construction industry by providing biocomposites with a low environmental impact due to their bio-based components and efficient use of the materials through 3D printing. Agricultural waste products—hemp shives—are used in these materials as a filler together with three different types of fast-setting binders— magnesium, calcium sulphoaluminate (CSA) and those that are gypsum-based. The study determines the setting time and compressive strength of these binders, as well as the formation of biocomposites of different densities for different applications; extrusion tests and preliminary life cycle assessment (LCA) are also performed. Results show that biocomposites with hemp shives and fast setting binders have a possible application in 3D printing due to their shape stability and buildability, as well as relatively high compressive strength, which allows for load-bearing use at high densities and thermal insulation use at low densities, although printability at low binder content remains a significant challenge. Preliminary LCA results show that CSA and gypsum binders have the lowest environmental impact from the binders considered.


Keywords
3D printing, LCA, CSA, gypsum

Šinka, M., Zoriča, J., Šahmenko, G., Bajāre, D. 3D Printing of Bio-Based Building Materials. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Bio-based Building Materials, Spain, Barcelona, 16-18 June, 2021. Barcelona: 2021, pp.919-919.

Publication language
English (en)
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