Mechanical, Dynamic-Mechanical, Thermal and Decomposition Behavior of 3D-Printed PLA Reinforced with CaCO₃ Fillers from Natural Resources

This study evaluates the effect of CaCO3 fillers extracted from waste eggshells on 3D-printed PLA performance. Samples of neat PLA and PLA reinforced with CaCO3 fillers embedded with different wt.% were prepared using an FDM (fused deposition modeling) technology. The samples were examined using mechanical, dynamic mechanical, thermal, and thermal decomposition analyses. The results revealed increasing elastic moduli, tensile strength, and flexure as the filler content increased. The rheological results from the MFR tests showed that the filler content did not influence the PLA-based samples’ processability. Further, the thermal degradation of neat and various CaCO3-wt.%-reinforced PLA specimens revealed relatively small discrepancies in their exposure to the temperature increase, mainly concerning the eggshell organic components and volatile components, from their processability up to 300 °C. By contrast, the increased filler content positively shifted the peaks along the temperature scale at the maximum degradation rate. Additionally, the weight content of the natural reinforcement strongly influenced the surface wettability and appearance of the samples. Further, the SEM analysis featured both the presence of interlayer disturbances and the interfacial compatibility the PLA with the selected fillers.