Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Toray Innovates Nylon 66 Chemical-Recycled Technology that Boosts Plastic Recycling Rates

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share 

Toray Industries, Inc., announced today a breakthrough in recycling nylon 66. The company recently deployed a proprietary depolymerization technology using subcritical water (see note 1) to depolymerize this resin uniformly and efficiently in just minutes, and recover it as a raw monomer material.

Demand for nylon 66 is estimated at 100,000 metric tons annually in Japan and 1.3 million tons worldwide. Its high heat resistance and strength make it essential for automotive and industrial applications. These include automotive textiles such as airbags and tire cords, and plastic components such as radiator tanks, cylinder head covers, and oil pans. Tighter recycling regulations for automotive and other plastics in Japan have made it mandatory to collect used nylon 66-based airbags, making it a promising material for chemical recycling.

Chemical-recycled nylon 6 (note 2) for which demonstration efforts are underway, entails recovering a monomer called caprolactam. Contrastingly, the process for chemical-recycled nylon 66 requires recovering hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid monomers. Toray drew on its expertise in nylon 6 chemical-recycled technology to assess the depolymerization reaction of nylon 66 in subcritical water. It developed a proprietary technology to suppress side reactions, making it possible to efficiently recover high yields of those two monomers and regenerate nylon 66 through repolymerization. Using Toray’s technology to make nylon 66 should halve carbon dioxide emissions compared with production from petroleum-based sources.

Toray looks to initially target automotive materials, establishing technologies to separate other materials in such used equipment as airbags, and technologies to depolymerize nylon 66 and separate and refine monomers. By 2025, the company plans to set up a framework to verify quality and evaluate customers through sample work. It will prepare for full-fledged mass production in around 2030, when stricter plastic recycling regulations are enacted.

The company will develop a comprehensive nylon recycling technologies for both nylon 6 and nylon 66. It plans to broaden its chemical-recycled technologies beyond apparel and automotive materials to other industrial applications to help create a circular economy and contribute to carbon neutrality.

One goal of the Toray Group Sustainability Vision for 2050 is to contribute to a world where resources are sustainably managed. The company will keep undertaking R&D to realize a sustainable, recycling-oriented society, as part of ongoing efforts to realize its corporate philosophy of “contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products.

source:Toray

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share: Liquid Crystal Polymers

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Liquid Crystal Polymers

LIQUID CRYSTALS: DISCOVERY 

The origin of liquid crystal study is typically traced back to Austrian chemist and botanist Friedrich Reinitzer. In 1888, he observed and later wrote about the strange behavior of a solid after exposing it to changing temperatures. Using solid cholesteryl benzoate,Reinitzer noticed that at one temperature the solid became a hazy liquid,yet at a higher temperature, the hazy liquid became clear. When cooling the clear liquid, again Reinitzer saw the liquid pass through two different color forms before returning to the original white solid with which he began . Reinitzer had observed two different melting points for the same material – a phenomenon which should not exist. Perplexed by his discovery, Reinitzer forwarded the solid white material along with his findings to Otto Lehmann, a physicist working out of Aachen in what is now present day Germany.

 Lehmann was better equipped to study the material than Reinitzer and expanded upon Reinitzer’s work. Lehmann placed the material which he had received from Reinitzer on a microscope equipped with a heat stage and observed the material while heating it . Lehmann observed the first (intermediate) hazy liquid as the white solid melted just as Reinitzer had. He described seeing crystallites multiple small crystalline formations with irregular borders. Lehmann realized that this first intermediate fluid appeared to be crystalline in nature and that it must in fact be a new state of matter.

After further studying and refining his ideas, Lehmann named his discovery a liquid crystal . Lehmann’s (and Reinitzer’s) observation received significant attention at the time, particularly after Lehmann published his findings in 1900. Indeed, by the early twentieth century nearly 200 other compounds were found to show liquid crystal behavior. However, after this initial attention, no practicable application for this new discovery was forthcoming, and interest in this new area of science soon waned. While Reinitzer and Lehmann are routinely given note as the originators of liquid crystal science, they were also likely aware of earlier work by fellow German Wilhelm Heintz. This highly published and productive chemist had done significant work on fatty acids. By 1850, Heintz had noted that certain natural fats had two different melting points. His observations were nearly identical to Reinitzer’s and Lehmann’s: As Heintz raised the temperature of the fat substance he was analyzing, the substance first became cloudy, then fully opaque. Finally, the substance turned completely clear with continued heating .

Just as Reinitzer’s and Lehmann’s official discovery in time garnered no real appreciation, so was the case with Heintz’s observation on two melting points for a single substance. This observation of two melting points, however, would later become fundamental to identifying a liquid crystal.  

source: Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.

Mitsubishi Chemical Group’s prepreg using plant-derived resin acquires international sustainability and carbon certification ISCC PLUS

In November 2024, the Mitsubishi Chemical Group (the MCG Group) acquired certification of ISCC PLUS an international certification system for sustainable products for its prepreg products using plant-derived resin manufactured at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Plant (Aichi). In February 2025, the MCG Group commenced sample work for the BiOpreg #500 series, including carbon fibre prepreg and glass fibre prepreg that are manufactured utilizing the mass balance approach* based on this certification.

Prepreg is an intermediate material in the form of a sheet of carbon fibre or glass fibre impregnated with matrix resin. The MCG Group has been selling prepreg products in which part of the epoxy resin used for impregnation has been replaced with a plant-derived product based on our unique material design technology. However, the new BiOpreg #500 series is manufactured using a plant-derived epoxy resin based on the mass balance approach at Mitsubishi Chemical Tokai Plant (Aichi). The series has acquired ISCC PLUS certification, and we have started sample work. This new product has the same performance as conventional petroleum-derived prepreg, and can be handled and moulded in the same way.

Starting with sports and leisure applications, we will aim to have this product in use in mobility applications, such as interior and exterior materials, as well as industrial applications. In the mobility sector, in particular, there is demand to reduce the environmental impacts of products throughout their entire life cycle, against a backdrop of environmental regulations. The BiOpreg #500 series can contribute to resource conservation and the reduction of greenhouse gases throughout the life cycle of automobiles by using plant-derived raw materials to reduce vehicle weight.

Through the acquisition of this certification and the provision of certified products, the MCG Group will continue to contribute to the social implementation of sustainable products that use recycled and biomass raw materials.

*The mass balance approach is a method of controlling a value chain in which, when multiple raw materials (e.g., a petroleum-derived raw material and a plant-derived raw material) are mixed to manufacture products, the percentage of sustainable raw material used (i.e., the plant-derived raw material) can be allocated to the same percentage of any given product.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation pledges and declares that it will comply with the requirements of ISCC PLUS certification in accordance with the latest regulations of ISCC.

source:Mitsubishi Chemical / jeccomposites

Thermoplastic composite materials can help reduce the weight of a vehicle by 15 to 30%”, says Morgane Duhec, Valeo Power Division

Valeo is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and to develop solutions for more sustainable mobility. For the mobility industry, optimising resource consumption is a crucial issue at a time when environmental awareness is on the increase and when access to natural resources can be challenged. In all our businesses, composite materials can help offer alternatives to traditional material. For example, Organosheet composite material is a game changer for sustainability in all Valeo’s businesses. We started to implement this material in front structural parts and battery supports as the material enables us to meet the strenuous safety regulations of the automotive industry in terms of shock resistance for example, while limiting the impact on natural resources and the environment.

We are also investigating other parts to contribute to lowering the overall product weight and the carbon footprint of a vehicle.

Electrification of the automotive industry as an opportunity for composite materials:

Electric mobility is a key solution to help reduce the impact of mobility on the environment. Valeo is a major player in electrification and we support carmakers around the world in their transition to electrified vehicles.  

While electric vehicles offer numerous environmental and performance benefits, one of the challenges they face is their increasing weight compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Advanced composite materials offer great opportunities that we are currently exploring. For example, thermoplastic composite materials can help reduce the weight of a vehicle by 15 to 30%, allowing it to maintain and even increase its autonomy.

It is important for Valeo to be present at JEC World 2025. JEC is the opportunity to present our latest innovations. This year, the main highlight is the full battery system assembly displayed on Valeo’s booth, which will show our ability to assemble battery systems and produce top covers and bottom protection plates in thermoplastic as well as cross member reinforcements. Side reinforcements are clearly essential to protect batteries and pass side pole crash tests. Cross members combined with side reinforcements are optimising the cell’s volume inside the battery casing. 

source:jeccomposites.com/Morgane Duhec-Valeo

China's first 50,000-ton highly selective polymerization unit for α-olefins

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share

Milestone! China's first 50,000-ton highly selective polymerization unit for α-olefins is successfully put into operation!

On February 26, China's first 50,000-ton/year industrial unit for ethylene highly selective polymerization for α-olefins, developed and constructed by Guangdong Zhongjie Jingchuang Chemical Co., Ltd. and the National Key Laboratory of Polyolefin Catalytic Technology and High-Performance Materials of Shanghai Institute of Chemical Industry , successfully started up with one catalyst feed, ran through the entire process under industrial load, and successfully produced ultra-high purity 1-octene and 1-hexene products.

This milestone achievement means that China's core basic raw materials in cutting-edge application fields such as photovoltaic energy have been further guaranteed by independent localization, and is expected to play a significant role in improving the quality and efficiency of downstream high-end polyolefin materials.

Guangdong Zhongjie Jingchuang Chemical Co., Ltd. currently has an annual production of 50,000 tons of α-olefins and 100,000 tons of POE projects.

source:ACMI/Guangdong Zhongjie Jingchuang Chemical

Arkema has decided to increase its PVDF capacity by 15% in North America

 This 15% capacity expansion of Arkema’s PVDF production site in Calvert City, Kentucky, represents an investment of around 20 million US dollars and is aligned with the strategy of the Group to increase its global #PVDF footprint at a pace and with capabilities that match market development. This will support the increasing demand for locally manufactured high-performance resins for lithium-ion batteries as well as the growing semiconductor and cable markets.

#Arkema’s Calvert City plant has a long history in PVDF manufacturing. The 15% capacity expansion will focus on innovative PVDF grades designed to support the manufacture of #electricvehicles (EV) and #energystorage systems with improved sustainability profiles, as well as growth in local manufacturing by customers in other strategic markets. 

Startup is planned for mid-2026, in line with the ramp-up of production at North American gigafactories and significant expansion of local #semiconductor capabilities.

Arkema produces PVDF in all three major regions, with plants in the USA, China, and France, and is a global leader in PVDF supply.

All three sites have recently seen significant investment and capacity increase at a pace and with capabilities that match the evolution of the demand. 

source:Arkema

BRB Introduces Silane for Improved Adhesion and Coupling

BRB International introduces BRB Silanil® 505, a silane with bifunctional properties. Silanes are becoming increasingly complex and versatile in their applications due to their bifunctionality.

BRB Silanil® 505 is an example of this. With two amino groups in its structure, it could serve as an adhesion promoter, and the three ethoxy groups give it coupling agent properties. Due to the ethoxy groups, BRB Silanil® 505 will release ethanol when it autocatalytically hydrolyzes in the presence of moisture.

Enhancing Adhesion to Metal and Glass:

BRB Silanil® 505 can be used in mineral-filled composites to improve mechanical properties and has also proven to be an additive for foundry resins. As an adhesion promoter, due to the presence of two amino groups, it is an additive for improving adhesion to inorganic substrates such as metal or glass.

The bifunctionality is what makes it possible to bind both inorganic and organic polymers by forming a molecular bridge between the two substrates. BRB Silanil® 505 will react as a strong base due to the two amino groups in its structure.

Source: BRB International / polymer-additives.specialchem.com