First enzymatic recycling facility for nylon planned
Polyamide producer Nilit and Australian start-up Samsara Eco have announced that they are investigating the possibility of building a nylon 6.6 recycling facility in South East Asia. The two partners aim to commence operations by the end of 2026.
Samsara Eco has devised a ‘family of plastic-eating enzymes’ that can break down nylon 6.6. Its EosEco process is said to be able to recycle varied feedstock inputs, including coloured and blended textiles such as nylon 6.6/Spandex fabrics. Once reverted to its original building blocks, the molecules can be repolymerised and respun by Nilit. Yarns resulting from the EosEco recycling process will be added to Nilit’s Sensil-branded yarns.
“From end-to-end, our process takes less than 2 hours and has a 100% recovery of the targeted monomers, making our infinite recycling process truly scalable. Compared to the production of virgin nylon 6.6, our infinite recycling process produces a superior product that is sustainably produced,” company founder and CEO, Paul Riley has told WSA.
See WSA’s feature on innovation in enzymatic recycling here.
Photo of Swiftly range made by Lululemon from recycled nylon from Samsara Eco
