Vitriform3D and ORNL use binder jetting to turn waste glass into building materials
Collaboration between startup and national laboratory has produced a method for 3D printing recycled glass into architectural products – plans to scale toward industrial wall cladding
Chicago-based startup Vitriform3D and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have together developed a process for converting discarded glass bottles into 3D printed construction products using binder jetting.
Previously applied to metal, wood fiber, and sand, but not to crushed glass, the technique has been employed successfully in the project. Ground glass powder is spread in successive layers by a robotic arm, while nozzles apply an adhesive binder to bond the particles and ink to add color, with finishing applied in an oven to set the final form.
The end product is classified as engineered stone, composed of 90-95% recycled glass and 5-10% polymer binder.
“There’s so much glass going into landfills in the US,” said Alex Stiles, Co-Founder of Vitriform3D. “Glass is infinitely recyclable, but only one-third of glass waste is being recycled. Essentially, you’re gluing the powdered glass together.”
From university project to DOE collaboration
Vitriform3D originated as a student project at the University of Tennessee. There, Stiles and co-founder Dustin Gilmer worked alongside ORNL research scientist Tomonori Saito and IACMI – The Composites Institute.
In 2022, the pair were selected for DOE’s Innovation Crossroads program at ORNL. With that came two years of funding, access to scientific expertise and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF). That phase involved modifying printer software, calibrating adhesive-to-powder ratios, and testing binder formulations for strength and finish.
The collaboration has since expanded to ORNL’s Building Technologies Research and Integration Center. The focus has since shifted to recycled glass cladding for exterior building surfaces.
“Glass is extremely resilient, durable, and versatile,” explained Nolan Hayes, Building Technologies Researcher at ORNL. “It’s fire-resistant and can withstand extreme weather conditions.” Characteristics that make it ideal for outdoor applications.
Stiles also runs a separate glass collection company, Fourth & Glass, which has gathered tens of thousands of pounds of bottles from Knoxville residents. He is now installing a printer at Lawrence Technological University in Detroit to allow architecture students to work with the technology directly.
“This will be the first time that architecture students can really sink their teeth into what they could do with this technology,” Stiles said. “For the projects with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that’s more focused on what we can do on an industrial scale. If we had a massive printer, how many thousands of tons of glass can we turn into wall paneling?
“But a micro-factory like the installation in Detroit could focus on smaller projects. With a few pieces of equipment, you too could take a glass bottle, crush it into sand and turn it into something new.”
