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Materials Science in Additive Manufacturing Sustainable resin for coral restoration

covered the whole coral plugs but not the area around
the coral fragments. One of the hypotheses is that coral
fragments might release certain chemical compounds or
signals during their initial growth or attachment phase that
repel or inhibit the settlement and growth of algae. 53-55 This
could be a natural defense mechanism of corals to prevent
algae overgrowth, which is a positive indication.

Figure 14. Scanning electron microscope images of the printed calcium At day 25, the purple crustose coralline algae (CCA)
carbonate-photoinitiated scaffold. The right picture provides a zoomed-in was clearly visible on the surface of the modified CCP,
view of the part circumscribed in the black square on the left image. AESO, and ceramic plugs (Figure 16). CCA plays a crucial
role in the formation and maintenance of coral reefs. CCA
deposits calcium carbonate in their cell walls, giving them
a hard, crusty appearance. They are often found covering
the surfaces of coral reefs, contributing to reef structural
integrity, and providing a substrate for coral larvae to
settle on. 56

After 3 months, a notable progression was evident
as the coral tissue expanded its coverage on the printed
substrate, as illustrated in Figure 17. The growth was
Figure 15. Microfragmentation on different coral plugs at day 1 (left)
and day 20 (right). For both images, the first row showcases the calcium observed spreading in both dimensions, in two and three
carbonate-photoinitiated plugs, the second the acrylated epoxidized dimensions, respectively, indicating successful settlement
soybean oil plugs, and the third the ceramic plugs. and adaptation of the corals to the printed substrate.

Figure 16. Microfragments on different coral plugs at day 25. From left to right: Acrylated epoxidized soybean oil, calcium carbonate-photoinitiated, and
ceramic plugs. The purple crustose coralline algae can be seen on the side of the surface.

Figure 17. Photo depicting experiment of microfragmentation on calcium carbonate-photoinitiated coral plugs (first row) and ceramic coral plugs (second
row) on day 90.

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2024) 10 doi: 10.36922/msam.3125