3D Printing of Hemicellulosic Biopolymers Extracted from Lignocellulosic Agricultural Wastes

Despite being one of the most abundant biopolymers found in nature after cellulose, hemicellulose is still an underutilized biopolymer. Using this abundant biopolymer in 3D printing applications has a lot of potential, but so far only minor attention has been given to hemicellulose, which includes using its derivative forms together with other polymers for 3D printing. On the other hand, cellulose, in the form of cellulose derivatives or nanocelluloses such as cellulose nanofibers and nanocrystals, receives significant attention for 3D printing applications, but it needs considerable chemical modifications and various postprinting processes. Therefore, a novel practical approach, which enables hemicellulose to be 3D printed without needing chemical modifications or blending with other polymers, might enable hemicellulose to get the attention it deserves as a widely abundant, renewable, biodegradable polymer of natural origin. In this context, hemicellulosic polymers extracted from lignocellulosic agricultural wastes (corn cobs) were 3D printed for the first time without any chemical modifications or mixing with another polymer. Successful 3D printing of hemicellulosic pastes could be achieved in a very narrow window with respect to their water content, printing temperature, and extrusion multiplier. Even the slightest variations in the water content of the pastes were found to influence the 3D printability of the polymers, which was related to the viscosity of the pastes. To demonstrate a potential biomedical application of the developed printing process, a scaffold prototype was 3D printed solely from the hemicellulosic polymers without applying any chemical modifications or using any postprinting processes.