Environmental and economic sustainability of additive manufacturing: A systematic literature review

Additive manufacturing (AM) is rapidly being adopted in various industries due to its ability to enhance production efficiency and reduce material waste, yet there remains a critical need to explore its sustainability, particularly concerning environmental, economic, and material recycling aspects. This study employs a systematic literature review (SLR) approach to assess the sustainability of AM across multiple aspects, including environmental impact, cost-effectiveness, and its role in advancing circular economy (CE) principles. The findings indicate that AM offers notable environmental benefits, including reductions in material waste and energy consumption, but challenges remain in scaling these advantages globally, particularly regarding the optimization of energy use and the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Economic analysis reveals that AM is cost-effective for small-scale production but less competitive in large-scale operations. The study also highlights that while AM promotes material recycling, its full potential in supporting a CE has yet to be realized. To further advance AM's sustainability, it is recommended to integrate more sustainable materials into AM processes and adopt industry-wide protocols to support global adoption of sustainable AM practices.