Emissions of Nanoparticle and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in 3D Printing Operations

초록

The original purpose of the three-dimensional (3D) printers was to create the prototype before launching the product. In recent years, however, applications have been expanded to industrial, medical, education, and even personal use. Although the applications of 3D printer is increasing, but research on air pollutants emitted by 3D printer have not been conducted well. As a potential sources of particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), understanding the physicochemical properties of air pollutants emitted from 3D printing is crucial. This study examines physicochemical and gaseous data on particulate matter and volatile organic compounds sampled from fused filament fabrication (FFF) type 3D printers (FINEBOT and Delta Robot) which have same type of feed stock filaments such as polylactic acid (PLA). To measure air pollutants, we used scanning mobility analyzer, personal particle sampler with TEM grid, and tedlar gas sampling bags along with low volume pump. Nanoparticle size distribution with aerodynamic diameter of 10 - 400 nm exhibit bimodal profiles with a dominant peak between 70 and 100 nm and a smaller mode in the size ranges less than 20 nm. At the beginning of the 3D printing operation, result shows the new particle formation and it was enhanced as the number of operating 3D printers increased. The chemical properties of the nanoparticle sampled by personal sampler exhibit the enhancement of silicon (Si) and sulfur (S) during 3D printing operation. Of the 45 gaseous species analyzed, 16 of them were considered as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), known to be carcinogens or cause serious health effects. This study was funded by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as ‘‘the Environmental Health Action Program(2016001360005)”