Used
cooking oil disposal is a concern at the global scale. Direct
disposal from domestic households and restaurants via drains can result
in serious environmental issues. In this study, waste cooking oil
was collected directly from vats in a McDonald’s restaurant
and acrylated via a straightforward one-step reaction. After the addition
of a photoinitiator and without any photoinhibitor, the product can
be printed using a commercial 3D printer. The formulated resin produced
high-resolution prints with features down to 100 micrometers. The
rapid prototyped prints show considerable thermomechanical stability,
morphological homogeneity, and biodegradability when compared to a
state-of-the-art research resin and a commercial resin. This paper
introduces the concept that waste cooking oil can be directly converted
into a high-value commercial 3D-printing resin, which may have considerable
societal benefits including reduction of waste and carbon emissions.
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