23 January 2017
DETAILS
Aquafil and Genomatica have announced
a multiyear agreement to create
sustainable caprolactam,
a key ingredient
to producing 100 percent sustainable nylon.
The collaboration aims to develop
a commercially-advantageous bioprocess
(Genomatica’s GENO CPL™ process)
to make caprolactam
using plant-based renewable ingredients,
rather than the crude oil-derived materials
traditionally used by the nylon industry.
Enabling more sustainable nylon products Used
in a variety of nylon-based products
including carpets and apparel,
caprolactam has a worldwide market
of over five million tons per year.
Genomatica’s GENO CPL™ process aims to provide
an environmentally-friendly way
to make caprolactam with better economics,
including for smaller-scale plants.
Additionally, it will enable licensees and their customers
to differentiate themselves by offering
a more sustainable bio-based product
whose performance will be fully comparable with nylon
made from crude oil-derived caprolactam,
and which will not require any machine or process adjustments
by the nylon supply chain.
Genomatica is the licensor of the GENO CPLTM process.
Aquafil is a leading producer of nylon yarn and launched
the ECONYL® Regeneration System in 2011
to produce nylon made from 100 percent regenerated waste.
A large and growing number of globally recognized sportswear,
fashion, luxury and carpet brands choose ECONYL®
as the sustainable ingredient for their product.
Like the ECONYL® process, the GENO CPL™ process
eliminates the significant amount of by-products common
to most crude oil-derived caprolactam production,
and will allow producers to diversify their sources
in terms of raw material.
For more information:
For Aquafil:
Maria Giovanna Sandrini,
maria.giovanna.sandrini@aquafil.com
For Genomatica:
Steve Weiss,
sweiss@genomatica.com,
+1.858.210.4424
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