REVIEW article
Front. Chem. Eng.
Sec. Sustainable Process Engineering
This article is part of the Research TopicTransforming Waste to Energy: Innovations in Sustainable EngineeringView all 5 articles
Sustainable Additive Manufacturing of Polymers and Composites: Optimization of Nozzle Design, Printing Parameters, and Post Processing for Waste to Value Transformation
Provisionally accepted
Pradeep Raja C1G Sridevi2Suman Pandipati3M Satthiyaraju4
B K Parrthipan5
Vigneshwaran Shanmugam6Ronald Aseer7S Babu1
Rhoda Afriyie Mensah8*
Karthik Babu NB9*- 1Indian Maritime University, Chennai, India
- 2Centurion University of Technology and Management School of Management, Bhubaneswar, India
- 3Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Srikakulam, India
- 4SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Vadapalani Campus, Chennai, India
- 5Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Virudhunagar, India
- 6SIMATS Deemed University, Chennai, India
- 7National Institute of Technology Puducherry, Karaikal, India
- 8Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
- 9Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Jais, India
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Additive manufacturing using fused deposition modelling (FDM) has emerged as a versatile and resource-efficient route for producing complex polymer and composite structures. However, the quality and sustainability of FDM-printed components are strongly governed by process parameters, nozzle design, and post-processing methods. This review provides a systematic analysis of these factors and their combined influence on mechanical integrity, surface finish, and dimensional accuracy. The study highlights how optimized layer thickness, build orientation, and extrusion temperature enhance interlayer adhesion and structural performance, while advanced nozzle geometries improve melt flow and minimize material waste. Post-processing techniques such as annealing, chemical smoothing, and surface finishing are evaluated for their roles in extending product life cycles and enabling recycled or bio-based polymer feedstocks. By linking process optimization to energy efficiency and material utilization, this review positions FDM as a pathway for sustainable, waste-to-value additive manufacturing. The insights presented support the development of eco-efficient design frameworks for next generation polymer and composite processing within circular engineering systems.
Keywords: Additive manufacturing, Filament deposition, Nozzle design, Print quality, sustainability, Waste-to-value
Received: 26 Oct 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Raja C, Sridevi, Pandipati, Satthiyaraju, Parrthipan, Shanmugam, Aseer, Babu, Mensah and Babu NB. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Rhoda Afriyie Mensah
Karthik Babu NB
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.