Chemical Recycling Trials for Glass-Reinforced Nylon

Toray announced an agreement with Honda to jointly develop chemical recycling technology for glass-fiber reinforced nylon 6 (polycaprolactam or PA6) parts from end-of-life vehicles. The technology entails depolymerization with subcritical water and regenerating the materials as caprolactam monomer.

The companies chose to focus on subcritical water for its dissolving power and hydrolysis effect on resins. According to Toray, depolymerization of nylon 6 with subcritical water can generate high yields of raw monomer. Separating, refining and repolymerizing the monomer generates nylon 6 that performs like a virgin material.

Japan’s Ministry of the Environment adopted this technology for a fiscal 2023 project to establish a decarbonized circular economy system, including validation of recycling systems for plastics and other resources. Toray and Honda look to employ that project to set up a pilot facility with a processing capacity of 500 metric tons annually of raw resin, conducting validation testing with it.

The two companies will develop depolymerization and monomer separation and refining technologies by employing intake manifolds as raw materials for engine intake system parts. They seek to apply these technologies for  recycling chemicals in automotive resin parts by around 2027.