“biodegradable”. For PLA Plastics, they are only biodegradable under commercial composting environments (CNC Kitchen made a video about it). For other things, I think it is mostly the same (CBC Made a video on this too (they looked at plastic alternatives though, and the duration of their testing was a bit short))
PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) is a truly biodegradable plastic (ASTM D6691Marine Biodegradable). Some bacteria naturally make it. The stuff I have is very bendy/rubbery so its not really a PLA alternative plastic though if you need something stiff/hard.
Another plus is that it doesn’t need a heated bed so it uses less electricity to print with.
That sounds really cool/ interesting! Keeping the bendy-ness/ rubbery-ness in mind, would you say that it could be a TPU/ PETG (certain types) alternative?
I personally have never printed TPU but from my understanding it is similar. I will say it is possible to probably get the structure of a PHA print rigid as long as a part doesn’t have super thin walls.
I haven’t made a significant amount of prints with PHA but from what I’ve seen a side that is walls/perimeters only is still very bendy while walls with some infill actually locks up into a more rigid structure better. Also, it isn’t brittle and is quite a bit tougher, and is much more temp stable (I usually see claims it softens around 110C)
This. In our city, many people put their organic waste into plastic bags (which are labeled as biodegradable) because they are sold at many stores. However, after doing a tour through our recycling facility, they told us they don’t have the equipment to properly compost it.
“biodegradable”. For PLA Plastics, they are only biodegradable under commercial composting environments (CNC Kitchen made a video about it). For other things, I think it is mostly the same (CBC Made a video on this too (they looked at plastic alternatives though, and the duration of their testing was a bit short))
PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoates) is a truly biodegradable plastic (ASTM D6691Marine Biodegradable). Some bacteria naturally make it. The stuff I have is very bendy/rubbery so its not really a PLA alternative plastic though if you need something stiff/hard.
Another plus is that it doesn’t need a heated bed so it uses less electricity to print with.
That sounds really cool/ interesting! Keeping the bendy-ness/ rubbery-ness in mind, would you say that it could be a TPU/ PETG (certain types) alternative?
I personally have never printed TPU but from my understanding it is similar. I will say it is possible to probably get the structure of a PHA print rigid as long as a part doesn’t have super thin walls.
I haven’t made a significant amount of prints with PHA but from what I’ve seen a side that is walls/perimeters only is still very bendy while walls with some infill actually locks up into a more rigid structure better. Also, it isn’t brittle and is quite a bit tougher, and is much more temp stable (I usually see claims it softens around 110C)
There is a PHA specific subreddit (I know, I know).
This. In our city, many people put their organic waste into plastic bags (which are labeled as biodegradable) because they are sold at many stores. However, after doing a tour through our recycling facility, they told us they don’t have the equipment to properly compost it.
Pla filament does actually biodwgrade in a regular household compost. It just takes years
Yeah, it would still be a massive improvement if it took 20 years instead of 1000.