Waste to 3D Printing: A Systematic Literature Review

Additive manufacturing is one of the most prominent technologies seen as an enabler for circular economy strategies, including the development of additive symbiotic networks. There is a gap in the literature regarding the understanding of how additive symbiotic networks can be developed, namely in identifying the wastes and by-products and additive manufacturing technologies that can be used to valorize these resources. This study aims to review the existing literature on the topics of industrial symbiosis and additive manufacturing. A sample of 83 documents was reached, with only 25 highlighting the potential for developing industrial symbiosis networks in the additive manufacturing context. Results show that the most used technologies to incorporate recycled materials included fused deposition modelling, fused filament fabrication and selective laser melting. Regarding waste or by-products exchanges, plastic polymers, biological wastes and metal powders are some of the most frequently exchanged materials. This makes evidence of the additive manufacturing industry’s potential to develop additive symbiotic networks in which wastes and by-products from other industries may be used as material inputs for additive manufacturing processes and technologies.