UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — An agricultural engineer in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is embarking on research to explore using plant-based materials for 3D printing, thanks to support from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Stephen Chmely, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, has received a $625,255 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the agency to spearhead the five-year project.
Chmely explained that while human-made structures often rely on concrete, plants employ long polymers such as lignin to craft their supportive frameworks. These intricate structures provide stability and facilitate vital functions such as nutrient transport, solar exposure and defense mechanisms for the plant and its offspring.
Lignin, a key polymer akin to cement in concrete, possesses a chemical composition closely resembling many everyday plastics. Consequently, it holds promise for developing new plastics, including those tailored for 3D printing. Utilizing lignin in this manner mirrors nature’s own process, wherein plants employ it to fashion their various components.
Furthermore, leveraging plants as a renewable resource for plastic production contrasts with the current reliance on nonrenewable crude oil. This shift promises environmental benefits and potential economic opportunities, particularly for rural communities. By harnessing carbon dioxide during growth, plants used for plastic production could help mitigate climate change effects.
“The goal of this project is to learn how to control the structure of lignin taken from plants and use it to create new materials for 3D printing,” Chmely said. “We will explore new chemistry methods to extract, modify and use lignin. We also will study how using lignin and other plant polymers could lessen the effects of climate change and how using them could help people in rural communities get good jobs related to these new renewable materials.”
The research plan will be augmented by enriching undergraduate education at the intersection of polymer science and sustainability, supporting undergraduate research opportunities related to sustainability, and disseminating research principles to K-12 students through the Research Experiences for Teachers program.
“I am extremely pleased by the announcement of Dr. Chmely’s NSF Early Career Award for his research on developing more sustainable plastics,” said Blair Siegfried, associate dean for research and graduate education and director of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station. “These awards represent recognition of excellence and a trajectory toward significant impact in research and education. We are fortunate to have Dr. Chmely as a member of our faculty and look forward to hearing about his accomplishments from this award.”