The use of carbonaceous fillers in polymeric biocomposite materials has
been widely studied due to their potential to add better engineering properties to
biocomposites and expand their field of applications. Currently, due to the growing
global concerns over environmental pollution and climate change, carbonaceous fillers
derived from biomass are the preferred choice for production of the sustainable
biocomposite materials. Rice husk ash (RHA), an abundant and sustainable
carbonaceous filler obtained from the burn of rice husk in kilns of the processing rice
was incorporated into the PBAT/PLA blend. The influence of RHA loading on the
tensile properties of FDM-3D printed samples was investigated. Neat PBAT/PLA
filament and its biocomposite filaments with 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 wt. % RHA were
prepared by the extrusion process. The filaments were characterized by FTIR, TG, and
SEM. FDM-3D printed specimens were subjected to tensile tests.
Keywords: 3D printing, Biocomposites, Carbonaceous Fillers, RHA, SEM, Tensile Properties.
