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Conventional Nylon and Bio-based Nylon
When it comes to nylon, everyone is familiar with it. It is a material that occupies a very important position in the fabric industry. Bio-based nylon is a new product that has attracted much attention.
Nylon is an engineering plastic with good mechanical properties, heat resistance, wear resistance, chemical solvent resistance, self-lubrication, and certain flame retardancy. It has a wide range of applications in many fields, such as automobiles, electronics, machinery, rail transportation, sports equipment, etc.
Nylon also comes in many different material types, two of which are the most widely used, namely nylon 6 and nylon 66. At present, these two nylon materials are derived from non-renewable resources such as petroleum. However, as the precious resource of oil on the earth becomes less and less, people began to think about making nylon materials from renewable resources, and this idea has attracted the attention of researchers, enterprises, and the market.
The Formation Principle of Bio-based Nylon
The raw materials needed to produce nylon are generally dibasic acids, diamines, or cyclic lactams. If we use renewable resources such as glucose, cellulose, and vegetable oils (including castor oil, oleic acid, and linoleic acid) and obtain them through bioengineering methods, then the production of nylon no longer needs to consume non-renewable resources such as petroleum. This is a bio-based nylon material.
There are two routes for this bioengineering approach:
- Sugar route: The sugar route is a route that uses microorganisms to ferment raw materials such as glucose or cellulose to obtain nylon raw materials
- Vegetable oil route: The vegetable oil route refers to the route that uses vegetable oils as raw materials (such as castor oil) to obtain nylon raw materials through a series of chemical conversions.
Comparison of Two Types of Nylon
Compared with traditional petroleum-derived nylon, bio-based nylon has longer alkyl chains and a lower melting point, between 180-195 degrees Celsius.
Therefore, although the tensile strength and modulus of bio-based nylon are not as high as those of traditional nylon, their processing temperature is low, energy consumption is low, and their longer alkyl chains make bio-based nylon have lower water absorption, much higher impact strength, and better toughness than traditional nylon.
Industrial corn and straw are used as raw materials to extract starch glucose, which is then fermented into lysine. Lysine is then converted into pentamethylenediamine using process technology. Pentamethylenediamine is reacted with adipic acid to obtain Bio-based nylon 56 with a bio-based content of 48%.
In this series of operations, obtaining bio-based pentamethylenediamine is the most important. This production process is carried out under normal temperature and pressure conditions, so it can achieve very low water consumption, energy consumption, and emissions.
Bio-based nylon 56 fabric has a unique molecular structure. Its unsaturated hydrogen bonds can keep the fabric naturally active, making it more flexible, heat-resistant, and dry.
Moisture-wicking and Dry
The moisture regain of Bio-based nylon 56 fiber is much lower than that of cotton fiber and cellulose fiber, but at the same time, higher than that of polyester fiber. Therefore, the constant moisture regain of Bio-based nylon 56 can not only keep the fabric dry and avoid moisture retention, but also reduce the itching and static electricity caused by excessive dryness.
Moreover, Bio-based nylon 56 has a high thermal conductivity, and its heat conduction is faster than that of PA66, so it feels cool when worn. Some clothing merchants also use it in home textile four-piece sets, which have achieved very good sales results.
Flexibility
The unsaturated hydrogen bonds in the Bio-based nylon 56 molecular chain can provide the fabric with strong and wear-resistant properties. At the same time, the natural and soft touch and drape are also excellent.
This makes the fabric suitable for outdoor sports, underwear, yoga wear, jackets, and military applications.
If blended with wool or silk, it will be more wear-resistant and cost less, but the feel of wool will not be greatly reduced.
Bright Colors
Bio-based nylon 56 has many molecular gaps. The increase in the molecular chain spacing makes it easier for dyes to enter, so the coloring is fast, deep, and bright. The desired dyeing effect can be achieved at a lower temperature and pressure, which reduces the energy consumption of dyeing and saves dyes.
The Development of Bio-based Nylon 56 Still Needs to be Improved
Bio-based nylon is not without its shortcomings. The biggest pain point is the high cost; the second is that the manufacturing process is not mature enough and needs to be adjusted accordingly. However, these shortcomings will be overcome one by one, and I believe that new bio-based products will occupy an important place in the textile market.
Wingtex was established in 2010 by several talented textile technicians. Since then, we have been one of the main Chinese manufacturers focused on YCRA knit fabric. We put all our effort into spandex fabric innovation and delivery stability, searching for excellence and higher customer satisfaction.
