TY - CONF A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - VOC-Emissions from thermoplastic filaments for 3-D-printing N2 - Summary: A screening test for potential emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) was run on different thermoplastic filaments used for 3D printing. The method of direct thermal desorption was used to simulate the high temperatures during the 3D printing process and to identify the main compounds emitted from the filaments. A large number of unexpected compounds were detected that might affect the user’s health and have an impact on indoor air chemistry. Introduction: The use of desktop 3D printers is increasing. Compared to other devices with known emissions, e.g. laser printers, there is still a lack of information on possible emissions of VOC and ultrafine particles during operation and the effect on indoor air quality. Most of the commercially available desktop 3D printers operate with a molten polymer deposition. For this process a solid thermoplastic filament is heated in an extrusion nozzle. Most filaments for desktop 3D printers use either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) or polylactic acid (PLA) as filament. Alternatives are polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or polycarbonate (PC). Method: Eight different thermoplastic filaments for 3D printers were analysed by direct thermal desorption followed by GC-MS identification of the emitted substances. Direct thermal desorption was done by desorbing 5 mg of the feedstock for 1 minute at a temperature of 210°C. This is an average temperature for 3D printing with thermoplastic filaments. Results and conclusions: The comparison of the 4 different filament groups showed the highest overall emissions from ABS, followed by PLA, PC and PVA. Filament ABS 2 emitted mainly SVOCs and triphenyl phosphate, the latter has the highest emission for a single compound from all evaluated filaments. Thermoplastic filaments are a new source of VOC emissions due to the high temperatures associated with 3D printing, which can reach up to 270°C. Some of the detected compounds like lactic acid, lactide and bisphenol A have never been described before in the indoor environment. Additionally some of the main substances could not be identified and some others might have the potential to affect the indoor air chemistry. The appearance of some newly detected compounds raises concerns about potential health effects for the users of 3D printers at home. T2 - 20th Conference | Odour and Emissions of Plastic Materials CY - Kassel, Germany DA - 20.03.2018 KW - VOC KW - Emissions KW - 3D printing KW - Thermoplastic filaments PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-44551 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Osan, J. A1 - Gross, A. A1 - Stabile, L. T1 - AEROMET - Observation of quickly changing element mass concentrations in an ambient aerosol using portable TXRF N2 - Measurements of aerosol particles are vital for enforcing EU air quality regulations to protect human health, and for research on climate change effects. Although metrics such as PM10 and PM2.5 are currently in use, the level of uncertainty of aerosol metrics is too high and the traceability is insufficient. The project AEROMET, which has been started in June 2017 aims at implementing improvements in a) the uncertainty of particle mass, size and number concentration measurements and b) in the characterization of regulated components in airborne particles. Both are demanded by existing networks within the EU as well as by global atmospheric research. On-site measurement campaigns One of the objects is the application of mobile x-ray spectroscopy techniques combined with aerosol sampling techniques for quantifying particle compositions in the field for real time analysis. During two in-field measurement campaigns in Budapest, Hungary in May 2018 and Cassino, Italy in September 2018 the size dependent mass concentrations of specific elements in ambient aerosols were monitored under dynamic conditions. Typically, airborne particles are sampled on filter substrates. During this project new sampling methods with specially designed substrate holders for an in-situ TXRF analysis were developed and applied for the first time. This approach allows a direct time and size resolved analysis without laborious digestion steps and a reduced risk of contamination. Aerosol particles were sampled in a 13-stage DLPI impactor - size range from 0,03 µm to 10 µm - which was equipped with special adapters for acrylic discs of 30 mm diameter, serving as substrates. TXRF analysis was performed on site with the transportable spectrometer S2 PICOFOX (Bruker Nano GmbH) equipped with a Mo X-ray tube and a 30 mm² Silicon Drift Detector (SDD). Excitation conditions were 50 kV, 600 µA, measurement time 1000 s. Quantification was based on internal standardization using 50 ng of Y in solution, which was pipetted into the centre of the discs prior to sampling. At moderate air pollution levels, i.e. PM10 ~ 20 µg/m³, sampling times of less than 2 hours were enough for the detection of elements in different particle size bins. The in-situ approach and the high sensitivity of TXRF enables the observation of rather quick changes in the quantity and distribution of elements in an ambient aerosol on the day of sampling, as the below example from the Cassino field campaign on 11 Sept. 2018 shows: The analysis of the morning and afternoon sampling shifts reveals the occurrence of the elements Fe, Ca and Si in different size bins as well as their significant temporal change in respective mass concentrations over the day while the distributions of several other elements in the aerosol remain unchanged. The validation of these results by backup measurements is planned. T2 - European Aerosol Conference EAC 2019 CY - Gothenburg, Sweden DA - 25.08.2019 KW - TXRF KW - Ambient air KW - Aerosol KW - Cascade impactor KW - Element analysis PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-49582 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Tang, Chi-Long A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - Proposal of a standard test method for the quantification of particulate matter during 3D printing and the systematic ranking of filament materials N2 - The diversity of fused filament fabrication (FFF) filaments continues to grow rapidly as the popularity of FFF-3D desktop printers for the use as home fabrication devices has been greatly increased in the past decade. Potential harmful emissions and associated health risks when operating indoors have induced many emission studies. However, the lack of standardization of measurements impeded an objectifiable comparison of research findings. Therefore, we designed a chamber-based standard method, i.e., the strand printing method (SPM), which provides a standardized printing procedure and quantifies systematically the particle emission released from individual FFF-3D filaments under controlled conditions. Forty-four marketable filament products were tested. The total number of emitted particles (TP) varied by approximately four orders of magnitude (1E9 ≤ TP ≤ 1E13), indicating that origin of polymers, manufacturer-specific additives, and undeclared impurities have a strong influence. Our results suggest that TP characterizes an individual filament product and particle emissions cannot be categorized by the polymer type (e.g., PLA or ABS) alone. The user's choice of a filament product is therefore decisive for the exposure to released particles during operation. Thus, choosing a filament product awarded for low emissions seems to be an easily achievable preemptive measure to prevent health hazards. T2 - 11th International Aerosol Conference CY - Athens, Greece DA - 04.09.2022 KW - Ultrafine particles KW - FFF-3D-Printer KW - Indoor emission KW - Emission test chamber KW - Test method KW - Exposure risk PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55666 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Tang, Chi-Long A1 - Wilke, Olaf A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Kalus, Sabine A1 - Erdmann, Kerstin T1 - Chemical characterization of ultrafine particles released from 3D printers N2 - Previous studies have shown that desktop 3D printers (Fused Filament Fabrication) emit high numbers of particulate matter, mainly as ultrafine particles (UFP, particle diameter less than 100 nm). However, the chemical composition of emitted particles has been less extensively investigated. In this study, we therefore focused on the chemical composition of particles emitted from 3D printing. The measurements were conducted in a 1 m³ emission test chamber. Emitted particles were sampled by a 13-stage low-pressure cascade impactor onto aluminum foils and then analyzed by TD-GC/MS to identify their organic compounds. Nine commercial filaments made from basic polymers such as Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA), Polycarbonate (PC), Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), Nylon, High Performance Polystyrene (HIPS) and a copper-filled Polylactide (PLA) were investigated. The results show that the organic components of the particles are primarily plastic additives such as plasticizer, antioxidant agents, lubricants, UV-absorbers and UV-stabilizers from the filaments. T2 - Healthy Buildings Europe 2021 CY - Online meeting DA - 21.06.2021 KW - UFP KW - FFF-3D-Printer KW - Chemical characterization PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-52895 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - VOC, Fine and Ultrafine Particles Emissions from Additive Manufacturing and 3D-Printers N2 - The presentation gives an overview on Additive Manufacturing techniques and related potential risks from emission of hazardous gases and aerosols, based on emission characterizations in BAM. Voluntary mitigation strategies are presented T2 - BAM - JBMIA (Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association) Meeting, JBMIA Emissions Working Group Meeting CY - Tokyo, Japan DA - 04.05.2019 KW - 3D Printing KW - Additive Manufacturing KW - Particulate emissions KW - Emissions of hazardous gases KW - Filament comparison PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-47812 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Seeger, Stefan T1 - UBA Projects on Particulate Emissions from Laser Printers N2 - The presentation gives an overview on past and ongoing projects in BAM on laser printer particulate emissions, funded by the German Environment Agency (UBA) in order to further develop award criteria for the Blue Angel ecolabel for office machines T2 - BAM - JBMIA (Japan Business Machine and Information System Industries Association) Meeting, JBMIA Emissions Working Group Meeting CY - Tokyo, Japan DA - 04.05.2019 KW - Laser Printer KW - Particulate emission KW - Blue Angel ecolabel KW - Office machines PY - 2019 AN - OPUS4-47811 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -