Italian polyamide producer Aquafil (Arco; www.aquafil.com) has successfully completed demonstration trials for plant-based PA 6, converting several tonnes of a plant-based version of the material’s building block, caprolactam, for use in applications such as yarns for textile and carpet, and engineering plastics. Aquafil worked with long-time collaborator Genomatica (San Diego, California, USA; www.genomatica.com) on the trials, which took place in the former’s new demonstration plant in Slovenia.

The two firms had been working on producing pilot-scale quantities of plant-based PA 6 (see Plasteurope.com of 30.11.2020) and have now moved on to manufacturing pre-commercial quantities at demonstration scale, which they said would help determine the final design of future commercial plants.

Giulio Bonazzi, Aquafil’s chief executive, said, “Plant-based nylon can perfectly complement our approach to depolymerising nylon products once they reach the end of their useful life.”

Earlier this year, Aquafil announced its non-exclusive alliance with Japanese industrial group Itochu (Tokyo; www.itochu.co.jp) to promote and expand the polyamide circular business. Itochu will use its global network to promote the worldwide collection of PA waste.

Related: PA 6 from discarded fishing nets to be used in Samsung devices

Aquafil also joined forces with the Chilean Salmon Marketing Council (Boston, Massachusetts, USA; www.chileansalmon.org) and cleantech recycling firm Atando Cabos (San Bernando, Chile; www.atandocabos.cl) to collect and recycle old fishing nets. Aquafil said it would establish a presence in Chile with an investment of EUR 10 mn and create approximately 30 jobs. The move into Chile follows a similar scheme in Norway with fisheries equipment recycler Nofir (Bodø; www.nofir.no).