Current uses include clothing, footwear, pantyhose, toothbrush bristles, fishing line, carpet fiber, auto parts, airbag fiber, rope, machine parts, parachutes, nylon balloons, guitar strings, tennis, racquetball and squash strings, drumstick heads, oven baking bags and filters.

The largest market for the Nylon is automotive, which accounted for 45% of the 2005 demand.  Other major markets include electrical and electronics, consumer and institutional goods, packaging and industrial products.  Advances in the motor vehicle market will fuel gains, as nylon will continue to penetrate new applications in engine and mechanical areas, with the best opportunities expected for high-temperature nylons such as polyphthalamides.  Electrical and electronic markets will be bolstered by gains in wire, cable and electronic component uses.

There are several known landfill sites located throughout Canada and the USA that contain vast quantities of valuable Nylon 6/6.  One site, the McAdoo Lane, is located near Kingston, Ontario Canada.  The site contains an estimated 360 million pounds of nylon and Poly-Pacific is anticipating the mining of this site, depending on daily production between 3-5 years. 

Production

Polyamides are formed from amine and acid groups containing monomers, and from this primary structure that defines polyamides chemically, a wide variety of polymeric products can be produced depending on the monomers used.  In PA (Polyamides) terminology, the numbers designate the number of carbon atoms between the amide groups.  The major PA’s in volume are PA6 and PA66 

Like engineering resins, PA’s are noted for their engineering properties, including high tensile strength, good resistance from creep, excellent resistance from abrasion, chemical and heat resistance and low coefficient of friction.  Polyamides resins exhibit greater hardness that the polyolefin’s, yet they are fairly ductile and tough (good impact strength) avoiding brittle failure.

Hence PA’s can perform mechanical functions requiring metal parts.  Because of these characteristics, the largest and most widely growth market for PA’s has been in automotive and truck parts.

Chemistry and Properties

The makeup of the basic chemical forming PA’s can be varied depending on the properties desired and the economic availability of the monomers.  The variation gives rise to a range of properties.

In the USA, the primary polyamide structure is PA66, followed closely by PA6.  The remaining polyamides constitute a relatively small portion of the consumption.  Current consumption of PA66 accounts for almost 55% of resins and compounds and PA6 accounts for almost 38%.  The other commercial PA’s make up the balance.

A large percentage is compounded with glass fibers, mineral fillers and additives such as flame=retardants, pigments and impact modifiers.  The addition of fibers and fillers increase such properties as strength, stiffness, heat deflection temperature and dimensional stability, with decreasing moisture pickup and shrinkage.  Additives may also have a deleterious impact on decreasing impact strength, ductility, and the ability to be machined.  However the high temperature, under the hood automotive parts; PA’s are frequently filled up to 50%.

Polyamides 6 and 66 are also used widely in a variety of applications, whereas the other PA’s are used in fore specialized applications.  Industry sources report that 20-25% of the Nylon resins supply is from recycled product.  Processing Nylon requires that the resin be in a pellet form for feeding to the equipment.

Processing Methods

Injection molding accounts for 70% and extrusion for 28% of the USA consumption and these are the two most important processing methods for polyamide.

Applications

The versatility of Nylon allows its use in a wide variety of markets.  Its performance as a metal replacement under severe conditions has made the automotive market the primary consumer of nylon resins and compounds.  Nylon usage per automobile has increased to 25 lbs/unit in replacing metal parts and materials.  This is the largest market because of its combination of strength, chemical resistance and ability to perform over a wide range of applications.  Additional markets are packaging films and electrical component parts.

Market

Nylon has experience an annual market growth of 7-10% over the last decade.  The price of Nylon depends on the particular polymer, as well as on how much and the types of additives and filers in the compound.  The approximate price of virgin Nylon for the basic grades of unfilled PA6 and PA66 has recently averaged $1.80/lb.

Nylon Demand by Market

Motor vehicles accounted for 45% of the total demand in 2005.  Other major markets include electrical and electronics, consumer and institutional goods, packaging and industrial products.  Advances in the motor vehicle market will fuel gains, as nylon will continue to penetrate new applications in engine and mechanical areas, with the best opportunities expected for high-temperature nylons such as polyphthalamides.  Electrical and electronic markets will be bolstered by gains in wire and cable electronic component uses.

Millions of pounds    1995 - 2015

Nylon Resin Pricing

Nylon is sold in a total of eight grades depending on the application and in addition to ten grades filled with minerals or glass reinforcement.  An additional grade is referred to as Transparent/Amorphous sells at $2.47 - $3.60/lb.