In Europe, a consortium is looking to increase the availability and use of recyclable biobased nylon.
Dubbed Project Effective, members include nylon fiber maker Aquafil and biobased polymer producer Genomatica as well as a number of feedstock providers and consumer brands.
“The basic idea is to completely decouple nylon from oil and to make the material from renewable resources, and then, with [Aquafil’s] Econyl [process], to recycle it an infinite number of times,” Aquafil CEO Giulio Bonazzi tells GreenBiz. “This would mean an incredible result in term of raw material accountancy for the planet.”
Genomatica has developed renewable fibers for high-performance clothing such as spandex and packaging using biobased feedstocks such as 1,4-butanediol. Aquafil will focus on downstream processing.