Companies Develop New Sustainable, Plant-Based Nylon for Everyday Items

New sustainable and plant-based nylon is being developed by businesses for use in a variety of everyday products, including clothing, carpets, and many others.

The CEO of a US biotech company recently stated that global brands need to take action by utilizing sustainable materials that feature traceable and transparent supply chains.

The initial demonstration-scale manufacturing runs for plant-based nylon-6 have just been completed by Genomatica (Geno) and longtime partner Aquafil.

According to Geno CEO Christopher Schilling, more companies worldwide are taking action to use sustainable materials in their products than ever before. In this case for nylon-6, their businesses are working to create traceable, intentional, and transparent supply chains to meet consumer demand for more sustainable products and to offer brands material options that can help them meet their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives.

Plant-Based Nylon

The material aims to transform the $22 billion nylon market, enabling brands to satisfy consumer demand for eco-friendly everyday products like clothing, automotive parts, and carpets. Geno and Aquafil have created the first few tons of the plant-based nylon-6 building block caprolactam, transformed it into a nylon-6 polymer, and are currently transforming it for evaluation in nylon applications, such as yarns for carpet and textile, and engineering plastics as part of pre-commercial volumes from demonstration production taking place in Europe.

The businesses have been working together to produce plant-based nylon-6 in pilot-scale quantities first. Now, they are producing pre-commercial volumes at a demonstration scale, which will help decide the final layout of future commercial plants. Leading international brands as well as their value chain partners will receive the materials, and they will be eager to research and develop renewable products, produce showcase goods, and gather customer feedback.

Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil CEO added that developing bio-based nylon is a crucial component of the sustainable supply chain strategy that needs to be implemented throughout the world. The strategy for depolymerizing nylon products as they have already reached the end of their useful lives can be perfectly complemented by plant-based nylon. The developers' long-standing cooperation has been fueled by a shared vision to pioneer the switch to more environmentally friendly materials.

Uses of Nylon

One of the most well-liked and frequently utilized engineered materials today is nylon. One of the main advantages of nylon, which is versatile and flexible, is that it is affordable and long-lasting to produce.

Several industries, including construction, agriculture, apparel, sports, and food processing, use nylon. It was initially created as a more durable and affordable substitute for silk. The many advantages of nylon were quickly realized, and it is now preferred over other materials in many industries.

It should come as no surprise that nylon has a wide range of uses given its many advantages. Numerous industries, including those in agriculture, sports, cars, construction, and food production, use nylon fabric and nylon plastic. Nylon rope, food packaging, stock shapes, vehicle parts, cookware, fabric, fishing line, carpets, and hosiery are among the top uses for nylon.