Polylactic acid (PLA) is a widely studied polymer for potential biomedical applications and is one of the most commonly used polymers for additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Additive manufacturing (AM) technology is a fast-rising method of fabrication of polymer parts compared to other traditional fabrication techniques. In recent years, natural plant-based and animal-based fibers have shown immense potential to be used as fillers or reinforcements for polymer composites. In this study, chicken eggshell particles (ESP) have been used as inorganic calcium carbonate fillers to enhance PLA's mechanical properties. Four different concentrations (0 wt%, 1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 5 wt%) of PLA/ESP composite filaments have been extruded using a single screw extruder. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analyses were used to determine the chemical composition of eggshell powder, showing peaks matching with that of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis show the effect of the filler on the PLA composite's thermal stability, indicating that pristine PLA has the highest melting temperature of 152 °C while the 5 wt% has the lowest melting temperature of 147 °C. The addition of eggshell particles slightly enhanced the compressive strength and dynamical mechanical properties of the PLA/ESP composites. The eggshell powders enhanced the dynamic mechanical property of PLA, with the 3 wt% concentration having the highest storage modulus at room temperature, with 5.2 % and 3.6 % increase for the filament and 3D printed samples respectively. Finally, the eggshell particles did not have much effect on the tensile and flexural strength of the composite, however, it enhanced the compressive strength of PLA with the 5 wt% sample having an average strength of 66.50 MPa and modulus of 2.27 GPa, respectively.
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