Clay and Alginate-Based Mixtures 3D Printing (2025-07)¶

In an era of excessive consumption, needing more resources, producing massive waste and byproducts, ecofriendly and sustainable products are regarded as a matter of obligation. In this perspective, researchers and industrial stakeholders of 3D-Cement-Printing (3DCP) are seeking to develop novel ecofriendly substitutive materials. This paper aims to answer number of scientific and technical issues in stabilizing natural local clay aiming to obtain efficient integration within 3DCP processes. In the present paper, the clay material used was extracted from Fez region-Morocco; sodium alginate was adopted for shape stabilization as an eco-friendly additive product. Then, physicochemical analysis along with rheological tests were conducted to understand the materials’ evolution in a hydrated state and under shearing solicitations. Subsequently, a set of samples were printed while the image processing procedure was exploited to assess samples’ buildability and the resulting quality. Based on this investigations, the findings revealed number of conclusions with regard to not only the mixture fractions but also according to the processing parameters. It was found that at maximal value of 3wt% alginate-to-clay ratio, the materials gelation reached notable clay restructuration leading to a significant reduction in both speed shrinkage values and initial speed reaching 35% for the optimal sample F7 leading to a reduction in initial cracks formation. The steady-state viscosity reached an optimal value enhancing the plasticity, resulting in printing success. The lack of plumb was reduced from 50 to 80% with the alginate. The upcoming works will be dedicated to additional additive levels along with more intricate geometries.