Development of sustainable polymer composite with agro-industrial residue for biomedical applications

The excessive use of plastics has raised significant environmental concerns, including harm to marine ecosystems and pollution. PLA, a widely used bioplastic, suffers from low toughness and thermal stability, limiting its industrial applications. This study addresses these limitations by incorporating soybean hulls, a biodegradable agricultural waste, as a filler in PLA/PBAT blends to develop sustainable composites for 3D printing. Advanced optimization techniques, including grey relational analysis (GRA) and Taguchi design of experiments (TGRA), were used to optimize printing parameters. Results showed that the raster angle had the most significant influence on mechanical properties (70%). Validation tests using optimized parameters demonstrated a 23% decrease in tensile strength with 10 wt% soybean hulls but a 35% increase in flexural strength and only a 3% reduction in impact strength. These properties make the composite suitable for biomedical and rigid packaging applications. Scanning electron microscopy revealed voids, pullouts, and reduced interlayer adhesion, providing insights into the material's microstructure. This study highlights the innovative use of agricultural waste in 3D printing, combining eco-friendly composites with advanced optimization techniques to improve sustainability and mechanical performance.Highlights Biodegradable PLA/PBAT composites with soybean hull made via FDM were studied. Raster angle influences 70% of mechanical property variations in composites. Adding 10% soybean hull increased flexural strength by 35% and reduced tensile by 23%. Grey relational analysis optimized printing improves composite properties. Eco-friendly composites could replace petroleum plastics for biomedical purposes.