3D Printing for Space links up with Braskem

Brazilian resins giant Braskem has partnered with 3D Printer maker Made In Space to use recycled plastic in the International Space Station. They are developing technology that will recycle plastic in zero gravity.

Astronauts will use the recycler by the end of 2018, cutting the costs of space missions and reducing the weight of payloads carried from Earth.

Andrew Rush, Made In Space President, said: “There is significant potential for plastic recycling on the ISS. For example, food packaging can be used to make objects for use by astronauts instead of being discarded. In the future, the recycler and the 3D printer will form a single package that will increase the autonomy and sustainability of long-duration space missions.”

The machine consists of a plastic crushing and extrusion system that produces a filament that can be used by the 3D printer already installed on the ISS. The recycler will allow astronauts to, among other applications, use the Green Polyethylene tools and parts previously fabricated by the 3D printer, as well as other plastic materials already on the ISS that no longer are being used, such as food packaging.

Patrick Teyssonneyre, Director of Innovation at Braskem, said: “Taking the first plastic recycler into space is a massive challenge and a source of great pride for Braskem. This second phase of our partnership with Made In Space will close the plastic cycle sustainably, from the production of Green Polyethylene made from sugarcane to the recycling of polymers for other applications.”