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Plastic debris (PD) is one of the biggest pollution problems in the marine environment. Nets, ropes, packaging, and pellets are the most common items that are spread around the world’s oceans causing an impact on wildlife and human health, and economic loss. Although mitigation is tantamount, the question remains for what can be done with the plastics that are already in the oceans. We conducted a literature review of research on debris and plastics waste management. Studies as shown that much of the collected marine debris goes to landfilling because it is little-known, diverse, salty, and too dirty for both incineration and recycling. Also, it showed that there is a strong focus on describing the environmental problems of marine and plastic debris, and that plastic debris is described in natural science terms that the waste management industry cannot use for determining suitable treatments. In order to better translate beach debris data into waste management data, we have collected beach debris from the Swedish West coast and conducted physical and chemical analyses for the characterization of the debris in waste management terms. Based on this data and the literature review, we have identified several recycling options for the PD. To identify environmental pros and cons with the different treatments, we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing mechanical, feedstock recycling and energy recovery to establish an appropriate and practical approach towards closing the loop for PD. These treatment options were analysed in the context of two clean-up operations. The analyses suggest that mechanical treatments are not suitable for most plastics (due to they are fragmented, degraded and with a wide range of additives) whereas chemical treatments are suggested as a suitable solution. Feedstock recycling allows the production of raw material, as well as it may have fewer emissions, in comparison with combustion or landfilling which have higher emissions per tonne of PD. Finally, the LCA of two clean-up operations were performed, using the data obtained in the previous processes to see the big picture: observing the ecological benefits of removing this debris, and seeing whether that benefit is juxtaposed according to the recycling option. Although the environmental profits are difficult to quantify, the LCA results suggest that the clean-up process can have a positive impact with both mechanical and feedstock recycling, as long as the operation itself has low emissions (e.g. reducing transport emissions of the volunteers).

Nowadays, RepRap and Arduino communities have had an increasing progress. These terms are demarcated on the Open Source development model; the designs produced by these projects are released under the GNU General Public License, which promotes free universal access and distribution of it, allowing an exponential and rapid improvement. RepRap project uses Fused Additive manufacturing (FDM) technology, term used to refer to processes that make solid objects from 3D computer models. In particular, the object is created by printing thin layers of fused plastic on top of one another. The objectives of this philosophy are the creation of 3D printers which are capable of self-replicating and use an Open Source software for everyone. Currently, printer’s control is realized by two printed circuit boards (PCB); one board is a microcontroller (Arduino) and the other contains the power electronics. As regards of Arduino, it is an electronic platform whose purpose is having an easy-to-use hardware and software. This platform permits reading its surroundings by receiving inputs from sensors and modifying it by actuators such as motors and lights. Therefore, this thesis consists on the design of a PCB for control a RepRap printer in order to contribute to the improvement of these philosophies.

Las tecnologías de impresión 3D están experimentando recientemente un gran crecimiento, ganando importancia en diferentes campos de investigación y en el mercado y ampliando la diversidad de sus aplicaciones. Por este motivo, este proyecto consiste en el diseño de un kit de impresora 3D de la mayor calidad posible, mejorando la precisión de los kits actuales. El objetivo principal del proyecto es que esta impresora sea de uso personal, de forma que se traslada un sistema de fabricación desde la industria al domicilio particular. Al tratarse de un kit, se intenta que el usuario construya su propia impresora, y que de esta forma pueda adquirir mayor conocimiento sobre el funcionamiento de la máquina. Esto a su vez permite disminuir los costes de fabricación de la impresora y de las piezas y añade un alto grado de personalización. En concreto este trabajo engloba el diseño de la parte mecánica de la impresora, centrándose fundamentalmente en el mecanismo de impresión. En el proyecto se estudia cada parte de la impresora, analizando cada uno de sus componentes y su distribución dentro de la impresora. Mediante el programa de diseño SolidWorks se ha llevado a cabo el modelado mecánico de la impresora. Este diseño corresponde al prototipo de la impresora 3D. A partir del cual deberá realizarse un posterior estudio que verifique su correcto funcionamiento para llevar a cabo la fabricación de las mismas. Para su diseño, el proyecto se ha inspirado en el proyecto RepRap . Este consiste en un conjunto de impresoras 3D que pueden ser auto-replicables. El resultado obtenido del presente trabajo es una impresora de tamaño reducido, similar a dichas impresoras pero sin la característica de poder fabricarse a sí misma. Esto por lo tanto supone un precio más elevado pero la impresora ofrece mayor precisión y duración de vida debido a una mayor resistencia.