{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,10]],"date-time":"2026-11-10T01:22:58Z","timestamp":1794273778422,"version":"4.9.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,20]],"date-time":"2024-03-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1710892800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)","award":["0001052"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0001052"]}]},{"name":"National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)","award":["CN00000023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CN00000023"]}]},{"name":"National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP)","award":["1033-17\/06\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1033-17\/06\/2022"]}]},{"name":"National Sustainable Mobility Center","award":["0001052"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0001052"]}]},{"name":"National Sustainable Mobility Center","award":["CN00000023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CN00000023"]}]},{"name":"National Sustainable Mobility Center","award":["1033-17\/06\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1033-17\/06\/2022"]}]},{"name":"Italian Ministry of University and Research Decree","award":["0001052"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0001052"]}]},{"name":"Italian Ministry of University and Research Decree","award":["CN00000023"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CN00000023"]}]},{"name":"Italian Ministry of University and Research Decree","award":["1033-17\/06\/2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["1033-17\/06\/2022"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Materials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The use of wheat middlings (WM) and rice husks (RH) as biofillers for mixing with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix to produce new 3D-printable biocomposites was assessed. Filaments containing 10 and 20 wt.% agro-waste-derived biofillers were manufactured and, for the sake of comparison, filaments of neat PLA were also produced. The obtained filaments were characterized via thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), showing potential for further application in additive manufacturing processing. Three-dimensionally printed specimens were thus produced and characterized via: DSC, also evaluating the specific heat capacity (CP) of specific 3D-printed specimens; dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), also applied for determining the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) measured on 3D-printed specimens in two different directions (X and Y); and tensile tests. The latter testing campaign was carried out along three printing directions (X, Y, and Z axes) to test the intrinsic biocomposite features (X-printed samples) as well as interbead and interlayer adhesion (Y- and Z-printed specimens, respectively). All samples demonstrated acceptable properties. The inclusion of a cost-free natural material leads to a strong reduction of the whole material cost. Implementing this new class of composite material to an additive manufacturing technique can significantly reduce the environmental impact of 3D-printed products.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ma17061421","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,20]],"date-time":"2024-03-20T09:14:33Z","timestamp":1710926073000},"page":"1421","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Valorization of Agro-Wastes as Fillers in PLA-Based Biocomposites for Increasing Sustainability in Fused Deposition Modeling Additive Manufacturing"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Niccol\u00f2","family":"Giani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Chemistry \u201cToso Montanari\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2092-808X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emanuele","family":"Maccaferri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Chemistry \u201cToso Montanari\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research on Advanced Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, CIRI-MAM, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9420-2524","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiziana","family":"Benelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Chemistry \u201cToso Montanari\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research on Advanced Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, CIRI-MAM, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5757-8514","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Bovo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum Universit\u00e0 di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 48, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniele","family":"Torreggiani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum Universit\u00e0 di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 48, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7130-7278","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enrico Gianfranco","family":"Campari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Physic and Astronomy \u201cAugusto Righi\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Carlo Berti Pichat 6\/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patrizia","family":"Tassinari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum Universit\u00e0 di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 48, 40127 Bologna, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2248-3552","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Loris","family":"Giorgini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Chemistry \u201cToso Montanari\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research on Advanced Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, CIRI-MAM, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3528-6729","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Mazzocchetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Chemistry \u201cToso Montanari\u201d, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research on Advanced Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Technology, CIRI-MAM, University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, Italy"},{"name":"National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), 50121 Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1021013921916","article-title":"Sustainable Bio-Composites from renewable resources: Opportunities and challenges in the green materials world","volume":"10","author":"Mohanty","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Polym. Environ."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1439-2054(20000301)276:1<1::AID-MAME1>3.0.CO;2-W","article-title":"Biofibres, biodegradable polymers and biocomposites: An overview","volume":"276\u2013277","author":"Mohanty","year":"2000","journal-title":"Macromol. Mater. Eng."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"120","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2012.07.004","article-title":"Green composites: A review of adequate materials for automotive applications","volume":"44","author":"Koronis","year":"2013","journal-title":"Compos. Part B Eng."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wu, Y., Gao, X., Wu, J., Zhou, T., Nguyen, T.T., and Wang, Y. (2023). Biodegradable Polylactic Acid and Its Composites: Characteristics, Processing, and Sustainable Applications in Sports. Polymers, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym15143096"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"(2023, September 21). European Bioplastics, Bioplastics Facts and Figure 2023, (n.d.). Available online: https:\/\/www.european-bioplastics.org\/bioplastics-facts-figures\/."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1015","DOI":"10.1007\/s00170-022-10795-y","article-title":"3D printing of polylactic acid: Recent advances and opportunities","volume":"125","author":"Joseph","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107002","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesa.2022.107002","article-title":"Towards sustainability in 3D printing of thermoplastic composites: Evaluation of recycled carbon fibers as reinforcing agent for FDM filament production and 3D printing","volume":"159","author":"Giani","year":"2022","journal-title":"Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mazzanti, V., Malagutti, L., and Mollica, F. (2019). FDM 3D Printing of Polymers Containing Natural Fillers: A Review of their Mechanical Properties. Polymers, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym11071094"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tao, Y., Wang, H., Li, Z., Li, P., and Shi, S.Q. (2017). Development and Application of Wood Flour-Filled Polylactic Acid Composite Filament for 3D Printing. Materials, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ma10040339"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1951","DOI":"10.1002\/pc.24971","article-title":"Production and characterization of bamboo and flax fiber reinforced polylactic acid filaments for fused deposition modeling (FDM)","volume":"40","author":"Depuydt","year":"2019","journal-title":"Polym. Compos."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, C., Smith, L.M., Zhang, W., Li, M., Wang, G., Shi, S.Q., Cheng, H., and Zhang, S. (2019). Reinforcement of Polylactic Acid for Fused Deposition Modeling Process with Nano Particles Treated Bamboo Powder. Polymers, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym11071146"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Stoof, D., Pickering, K., and Zhang, Y. (2017). Fused Deposition Modelling of Natural Fibre\/Polylactic Acid Composites. J. Compos. Sci., 1.","DOI":"10.3390\/jcs1010008"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lee, C.H., Padzil, F.N.B.M., Lee, S.H., Ainun, Z.M.A., and Abdullah, L.C. (2021). Potential for Natural Fiber Reinforcement in PLA Polymer Filaments for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Additive Manufacturing: A Review. Polymers, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/polym13091407"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"910","DOI":"10.1002\/pat.4524","article-title":"Three-dimensional printing of poly(lactic acid) bio-based composites with sugarcane bagasse fiber: Effect of printing orientation on tensile performance","volume":"30","author":"Liu","year":"2019","journal-title":"Polym. Adv. Technol."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2633366X2096736","DOI":"10.1177\/2633366X20967360","article-title":"Rice straw powder\/polylactic acid biocomposites for three-dimensional printing","volume":"29","author":"Yu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Compos. Lett."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"137","article-title":"Pretreatment Studies and Characterization of Bio-Degradable and 3d- Printable Filaments from Coconut Waste","volume":"13","author":"Fouladi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int. J. Nanoelectron. Mater."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"1","article-title":"Production and 3D printing processing of bio-based thermoplastic filament","volume":"4","author":"Gkartzou","year":"2017","journal-title":"Manuf. Rev."},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Tisserat, B., Liu, Z., Finkenstadt, V., Lewandowski, B., Ott, S., and Reifschneider, L. (2015). 3D printing biocomposites, SPE Plast. Res. Online, 10\u201312."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2017.10.005","article-title":"Sustainable composite fused deposition modelling filament using recycled pre-consumer polypropylene","volume":"135","author":"Stoof","year":"2018","journal-title":"Compos. Part B Eng."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"230","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compscitech.2018.10.008","article-title":"Cork\u2013PLA composite filaments for fused deposition modelling","volume":"168","author":"Daver","year":"2018","journal-title":"Compos. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Vermeulen, K. (2017). Wheat Bran with Reduced Particle Size as Carrier for Microbial Networks That Affect Salmonella Colonization, Ghent Univ."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2652","DOI":"10.2527\/2000.78102652x","article-title":"Variability among sources and laboratories in analyses of wheat middlings. NCR-42 Committee on Swine Nutrition","volume":"78","author":"Cromwell","year":"2000","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"841","DOI":"10.1093\/ps\/78.6.841","article-title":"The effect of dietary wheat middlings and enzyme supplementation. 1. Late egg production efficiency, egg yields, and egg composition in two strains of Leghorn hens","volume":"78","author":"Jaroni","year":"1999","journal-title":"Poult. Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"938","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(97)76017-X","article-title":"Milk Production and Composition Responses to the Source of Protein Supplements in Diets Containing Wheat Middlings","volume":"80","author":"Bernard","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Dairy Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1012","DOI":"10.2527\/jas1985.6041012x","article-title":"Wheat Middlings as a Source of Energy, Amino Acids, Phosphorus and Pellet Binding Quality for Swine Diets","volume":"60","author":"Erickson","year":"1985","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2100235","DOI":"10.1002\/masy.202100235","article-title":"A New Biocomposite Material Based on Wheat Waste and Suitable for 3D Printing Applications","volume":"405","author":"Giani","year":"2022","journal-title":"Macromol. Symp."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3159","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1025157114800","article-title":"Processing, properties and applications of reactive silica from rice husk\u2014An overview","volume":"38","author":"Chandrasekhar","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Mater. Sci."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"15","article-title":"Influence of Rice Husk and Wood Biomass Properties on the Manufacture of Filaments for Fused Deposition Modeling","volume":"7","author":"Hill","year":"2019","journal-title":"Front. Chem."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"809","DOI":"10.1007\/s10973-007-8294-2","article-title":"A study on the thermal destruction of rice husk in air and nitrogen atmosphere","volume":"89","author":"Markovska","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Therm. Anal. Calorim."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1286","DOI":"10.1177\/0892705712471360","article-title":"Injection-moulded biocomposites from polylactic acid (PLA) and recycled carbon fibre","volume":"27","author":"Chen","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Thermoplast. Compos. Mater."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"(2019). Standard Test Method for Linear Thermal Expansion of Solid Materials by Thermomechanical Analysis (Standard No. ASTM E831-19)."},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"(2022). Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics (Standard No. ASTM D638)."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"422","DOI":"10.1007\/s10924-010-0185-0","article-title":"Comparison of polylactic Acid\/Kenaf and polylactic Acid\/Rise husk composites: The influence of the natural fibers on the mechanical, thermal and biodegradability properties","volume":"18","author":"Yussuf","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Polym. Environ."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1781","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fuel.2006.12.013","article-title":"Characteristics of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin pyrolysis","volume":"86","author":"Yang","year":"2007","journal-title":"Fuel"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"374","DOI":"10.1016\/j.enbuild.2018.03.019","article-title":"Wood waste as an alternative thermal insulation for buildings","volume":"168","author":"Cetiner","year":"2018","journal-title":"Energy Build."},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"1","article-title":"A review of unconventional sustainable building insulation materials","volume":"4","author":"Asdrubali","year":"2015","journal-title":"Sustain. Mater. Technol."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compositesb.2017.11.018","article-title":"Interfacial bonding strength of short carbon fiber\/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene composites fabricated by fused deposition modeling","volume":"137","author":"Zhang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Compos. Part B Eng."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rahman, A.M., Rahman, T.T., Pei, Z., Ufodike, C.O., Lee, J., and Elwany, A. (2023). Additive Manufacturing Using Agriculturally Derived Biowastes: A Systematic Literature Review. Bioengineering, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering10070845"},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"(2024, March 12). Available online: https:\/\/www.clal.it\/upload\/Listino%20N.1%20dal%2031%20dicembre%202022%20al%206%20gennaio%20%202023.pdf."}],"container-title":["Materials"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/17\/6\/1421\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T14:16:38Z","timestamp":1760105798000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1996-1944\/17\/6\/1421"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,20]]},"references-count":39,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,3]]}},"alternative-id":["ma17061421"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ma17061421","relation":{},"ISSN":["1996-1944"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1996-1944","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,3,20]]}}}