Nylon 6 Chemical Recycling

AII funded this project to tackle emissions from synthetic fiber production and address the lack of scalable recycling solutions for nylon. The technology has strong potential to reduce reliance on virgin fossil-based materials while enabling circularity, but it required support to bridge the gap between lab success and industrial adoption.

This project supports the scaling of a novel chemical recycling process that converts nylon waste into virgin-quality caprolactam, which can then be repolymerized into Nylon 6. The project aims to demonstrate fiber-grade quality output and enable industrial validation, paving the way for circular production of synthetic fibers. The scope includes scaling production from lab scale to 10 kg/day pilot capacity, optimizing catalyst and process conditions, producing caprolactam for partner validation, polymerizing it into Nylon 6, spinning fibers, and conducting lifecycle and techno-economic analyses.

Scaling depends on successful pilot validation, feedstock availability, and partner adoption. The project specifically aims to unlock industrial uptake by demonstrating technical and economic feasibility at a pilot scale.