Researchers in the United States have realized The New Solution for Nylon 6 Recycle

Scientists at Northwestern University in the United States have announced a major breakthrough in the development of a new catalyst that can quickly and completely decompose nylon 6 in minutes without any harmful by-products. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation funded by the Redesigning Polymers to Leverage A Circular Economy (RePLACE) program.

This catalyst does not require the use of toxic solvents and is used as the first step in the recycling of nylon 6 waste into new products. The catalyst is based on cerium and lanthanum metal ions, and after the team heated the nylon 6 sample to a melting temperature, the plastic raw material can quickly disintegrate and return to its original structure after being applied without solvent. "In this experiment, the team successfully recovered 99% of the original monomers, which in principle can be recycled into higher-value products," said lead study author Tobin Marks. 」

This catalyst is highly selective and works only against nylon 6 polymers and does not interfere with the surrounding material. This means that the catalyst can be applied to large amounts of unsorted waste to expand the recovery of nylon 6. The findings, published in the journal Chem, show that the catalyst can help reduce plastic pollution in the environment, such as the common nylon 6 fishing nets, which end up being discarded in the ocean.

In the past, the treatment of nylon 6 often required the use of toxic solvents or extreme conditions, such as high temperatures or high-pressure steam, which could pose environmental problems in their own right. But this new technology brings a new recycling option for low-temperature and non-toxic solvents, which has already aroused the interest of potential industrial partners.