# Bio-resins for 3D printing
UV-curable 3D printing resins built substantially on soybean or other plant oil rather than fully petrochemical acrylates — sold by resin producers (Anycubic, Liqcreate, Siraya Tech, Photocentric) primarily on lower odor and reduced fossil content rather than a claim of full biodegradability, since most formulations remain partially plant-based (45-50% in confirmed producer disclosures) rather than 100% bio-derived.
Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/bio-resins-3d-printing/
Updated: 2026-08-18
## Overview and value chain
Markers: [EC: EU REACH substance registration | OECD: Bio-based materials | Regulator: REACH (EU)]
Bio-resins for 3D printing replace part of the petrochemical acrylate content in UV-curable photopolymer resin with soybean oil or other plant-derived feedstock, targeting the SLA, DLP and LCD/MSLA resin-printing segment where conventional resins are criticized for strong odor and VOC content. Every producer confirmed here discloses a partial rather than complete bio-based content — Photocentric's Rigid DL240 and UV240 lines specify 50% plant-based material, and broader market coverage of Anycubic's formulation cites roughly 45% soybean oil — making "plant-based" a partial-substitution claim rather than a fully biodegradable or fully renewable material, distinct from how bio-based framing works in some other materials categories on this site. The category's commercial driver is primarily user-facing: lower odor and reduced VOC exposure during printing, particularly relevant for hobbyist and small-workshop users printing indoors, rather than a downstream biodegradability or composting claim about the finished printed part.
The key directions of bio-resins for 3D printing are:
1. **General-purpose plant-based UV resins:** soybean-oil-substituted standard resin formulations marketed primarily on lower odor and reduced VOC exposure, compatible with mainstream consumer LCD/MSLA printers.
2. **Rigid and engineering-grade plant-based resins:** higher-performance formulations targeting dimensional accuracy and surface finish for prototyping and dental-model applications, carrying the same partial plant-based content as general-purpose lines.
3. **Recyclable and biobased photopolymer research-to-product formulations:** resin lines explicitly framed around recyclability alongside bio-based content, addressing end-of-life alongside the odor and VOC improvements that drove initial adoption.
4. **Biocompatible resin lines adjacent to plant-based formulation:** medical and dental-grade biocompatible resins (non-cytotoxic, autoclavable) offered by the same producers alongside their plant-based general-purpose lines, a related but distinct product category sharing manufacturing infrastructure.
### Sectoral value chain
```
[Plant Oil Feedstock Sourcing] ──> [Acrylate Modification] ──> [Resin Formulation & Bottling] ──> [Retail & Direct Sale]
│
(Print Performance & Odor Testing)
│
▼
[Consumer/Prosumer 3D Printing]
```
### Value chain levels
| Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Plant oil feedstock sourcing** | Sourcing soybean oil or other plant-derived oil as the bio-based feedstock component. | **In:** Raw plant oil.
**Out:** Feedstock ready for chemical modification. |
| **Acrylate modification** | Chemically modifying the plant oil into an acrylate-compatible monomer for UV-curable formulation. | **In:** Plant oil feedstock.
**Out:** Bio-based acrylate component. |
| **Resin formulation and bottling** | Compounding the bio-based acrylate with remaining petrochemical components, photoinitiators and pigments into a working resin, then bottling. | **In:** Bio-based acrylate, remaining formulation components.
**Out:** Bottled resin product. |
| **Print performance and odor testing** | Testing the resin's print accuracy, mechanical properties and odor/VOC profile against conventional resin benchmarks. | **In:** Bottled resin.
**Out:** Substantiated performance and odor-reduction claims. |
| **Retail and direct sale** | Selling through 3D-printing hobbyist retail, printer-manufacturer bundling or direct-to-consumer e-commerce. | **In:** Tested resin.
**Out:** Retail sale. |
| **Consumer/prosumer 3D printing** | Using the resin in an LCD/MSLA, DLP or SLA printer to produce finished printed parts. | **In:** Purchased resin.
**Out:** Printed part, produced with lower printing-process odor and VOC exposure. |
Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:
- **Epoxidized soybean oil acrylation:** the dominant chemical route for converting plant oil into a UV-curable acrylate component, the shared underlying chemistry across most producers in this category regardless of brand.
- **Partial bio-based content disclosure:** producers specifying a percentage (45-50% in confirmed cases) rather than claiming full bio-based or biodegradable status, reflecting the genuine chemistry limit of current plant-oil-acrylate substitution.
- **Cross-printer compatibility formulation:** engineering plant-based resins to work across multiple printer brands (Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen, Creality) rather than a single proprietary hardware ecosystem, since most producers in this category sell resin independent of a captive printer platform.
---
## US
The United States hosts a resin specialist producing plant-based formulations engineered for cross-compatibility with the major consumer 3D-printer brands.
### Cross-compatible plant-based resin from a US specialist
- **Siraya Tech:** produces Easy Plant-Based Resin, a soy-derived formulation engineered for compatibility across Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen and Creality printers, marketed on reduced VOCs, low odor and BPA-free safety alongside its conventional engineering-grade resin lines (Blu Tough, Blu Lava).
---
## CN
China hosts a major consumer 3D-printer manufacturer selling a dedicated plant-based resin line as part of its broader hardware and materials catalog.
### Plant-based UV resin from a major consumer 3D-printer manufacturer
- **Anycubic:** sells Plant-Based UV Resin 2.0, a soybean-oil-substituted formulation (roughly 45% plant-based per market coverage) marketed on low odor, high toughness and precision printing, sold in bulk multi-bottle formats alongside its printer hardware line.
---
## EU
Europe hosts a producer spanning general-purpose plant-based resin research-to-market formulations alongside a broader biocompatible resin catalog.
### Recyclable bio-based photopolymer resin
- **Liqcreate:** produces recyclable, biobased UV-curable photopolymer resin lines alongside a broader biocompatible resin catalog (Bio-Med Clear, Bio-Med Flex) for medical and biomedical 3D-printing applications, based in the Netherlands.
Photocentric (UK) is a fourth confirmed producer that falls outside the US/CN/EU section structure (UK-headquartered, outside the EU post-Brexit): it produces Rigid DL240 and UV240 plant-based resins (50% plant-based content) targeting fast prototyping and dental-model production, alongside a Durable DL902 plant-based resin for daylight-curing systems. It is carried in the Leading Companies table below.
---
## Leading companies and research institutes
| Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 |
|:---|:---|:---|:---|:---|
| **Anycubic** | 🇨🇳 China | *Plant-Based UV Resin 2.0* | ~45% soybean-oil content, cross-hardware sale | commercial |
| **Liqcreate** | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | *Recyclable biobased photopolymer resin* | Biobased UV-curable, adjacent biocompatible line | commercial |
| **Siraya Tech** | 🇺🇸 USA | *Easy Plant-Based Resin* | Soy-derived, cross-printer compatible (Elegoo/Anycubic/Phrozen/Creality) | commercial |
| **Photocentric** | 🇬🇧 UK | *Rigid DL240, UV240, Durable DL902* | 50% plant-based content, dental/prototyping grade | commercial |
---
## Tech stack and innovations
The stack centers on a single dominant chemical route — epoxidized soybean oil acrylation — with the main points of differentiation being disclosed bio-based percentage, cross-printer compatibility engineering and application-specific performance grade.
1. **Epoxidized Soybean Oil Acrylation as the Shared Route:**
- Converting plant oil (predominantly soybean) into a UV-curable acrylate component through epoxidation and acrylation is the chemistry underlying most plant-based resins in this category, regardless of brand.
- This shared chemical route is why disclosed bio-based content clusters around 45-50% across independently confirmed producers — it reflects a genuine current ceiling on plant-oil-acrylate substitution rather than differing formulation ambition between producers.
2. **Cross-Printer Compatibility as a Business-Model Choice:**
- Siraya Tech's Easy Plant-Based Resin and similar formulations are explicitly engineered to work across competing printer brands (Elegoo, Anycubic, Phrozen, Creality) rather than being locked to a single proprietary hardware platform.
- This is a deliberate business-model choice distinct from a hardware manufacturer like Anycubic, which sells its plant-based resin alongside its own printers but still markets cross-compatibility as a feature rather than restricting the resin to its own hardware.
3. **Application-Specific Performance Grades Layered on the Same Base Chemistry:**
- Photocentric's Rigid DL240/UV240 (dental and prototyping) and Durable DL902 (daylight-curing systems) apply the same plant-based acrylate chemistry to different target applications through formulation-level engineering rather than a different base feedstock.
- This is why evaluating a "plant-based resin" claim requires checking the specific product's target application and mechanical grade — the underlying bio-based chemistry is similar, but the finished-part performance characteristics differ substantially by formulation.
---
## Value chains and production pipelines
### Industrial pipeline of a bio-resins-3d-printing product line
```
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 1. Plant Oil Sourcing │ ───> │ 2. Acrylate Modification │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 4. Performance/Odor Testing│ <─── │ 3. Formulation & Bottling │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ 5. Retail & Direct Sale │ ───> │ 6. Consumer/Prosumer Print │
└───────────────────────────┘ └───────────────────────────┘
```
#### Stage 1: Plant oil feedstock sourcing
Soybean oil or other plant-derived oil is sourced as the bio-based feedstock component, setting the formulation's bio-based content ceiling before chemical modification begins.
#### Stage 2: Acrylate modification
The plant oil is chemically modified (epoxidized and acrylated) into a UV-curable acrylate component compatible with standard photopolymer resin chemistry.
#### Stage 3: Resin formulation and bottling
The bio-based acrylate is compounded with remaining petrochemical components, photoinitiators and pigments into a working resin formula, then bottled for retail, the stage where producers diverge in bio-based percentage and application-specific additives.
#### Stage 4: Print performance and odor testing
The finished resin is tested for print accuracy, mechanical properties and odor/VOC profile against conventional resin benchmarks, substantiating the specific performance and odor-reduction claims each producer publishes.
#### Stage 5: Retail and direct sale
Tested resin is sold through 3D-printing hobbyist retail, printer-manufacturer bundling or direct-to-consumer e-commerce, competing on disclosed bio-based percentage, odor reduction and cross-printer compatibility.
#### Stage 6: Consumer/prosumer 3D printing
The resin is used in an LCD/MSLA, DLP or SLA printer to produce finished printed parts, the stage where the printing user directly experiences the odor and VOC reduction that is this category's primary commercial claim.