AdvanSix launches polyamide with 100% recycled content

AdvanSix is ​​driving the sustainability of polyamides. The company has developed polyamide products made from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) material. These materials complement AdvanSix’s 100% post-industrial recycled (PIR) grade polyamide, which has been available since 2021.

Recycled polyamides include AdvanSix Aegis PIR and PCR grade resins and Capran PIR biaxially oriented polyamide (BOPA) films.

Applications for polyamide products include FDA-compliant food and medical packaging, thermoformed and shrink-wrapped meat and cheese packaging, bag-in-box packaging, and home office furniture and automotive components.

Kori Anderson, vice president and general manager of AdvanSix’s Polyamide Solutions Division, said: “Plastic and film manufacturers are increasingly demanding reliable, cost-effective 100% recycled recycled materials. We are excited to bring to the market Products that may help customers reduce their carbon footprint, reduce their impact on landfills, and provide a grounded solution to support a variety of end markets and applications that integrate into people’s lives in a more sustainable way.”

Advantages of Recycled Polyamide

For converters and film manufacturers, PIR and PCR products offer a range of advantages:

● These materials comply with food standards and medical packaging standards.

● Since the physical and mechanical properties of recycled materials are the same as conventional polyamides, running recycled materials does not require equipment changes or recertification. Plastic processors and packagers can thus quickly and easily reduce their carbon footprint.

● These materials exhibit the same processing, forming and durability characteristics as virgin polyamides, providing a sustainable drop-in replacement.

● These products are part of circular solutions that help plastics processors and film manufacturers meet self-defined sustainability goals without sacrificing performance.

● The 100% recycled content of AdvanSix’s PCR and PIR products has been certified by an independent third-party organization, SCS Global Services.

● These materials meet recycled content claims according to the FTC’s Green Guidelines for Environmental Claims.

Two-stream method for polyamide recovery

Manufacturing polyamides with recycled content includes recovering unreacted caprolactam from AdvanSix’s processing waste streams and collecting high-quality PCR waste from industrial customers using AdvanSix products. The latter includes the company’s polyamide processing partners.

AdvanSix blends and purifies the PIR and PCR material and sends it back into the polyamide production process. It uses third-party certified mass balance and distribution methods to monitor and verify the flow of mixed materials during processing. According to the company, it is a low-energy, high-yield process.

This dual-stream approach produces reliable, cost-effective, high-performance recycled plastics, helping to meet the growing demand for such products from plastic and film manufacturers and minimizing plastic waste going to landfills quantity.