The first two routes are used by most of the caprolactam producers in the world today, followed by the third route, which is used by two producers in Western Europe at the present time. The last route is the least-used, with Toray Industries in Japan as the only producer. In this report, we present economics for three alternative processes using the first route, and one process each using the second and third routes. The first route is employed mostly for fiber production while the second one is used for extrusion and casting resins at a much lower production volume. Economics of two alternative hydrolytic polymerization processes are presented in this report, one producing nylon 6 chips, and the other producing nylon 6 melt for direct spinning.
Supplemental information is given in appendices.
Nylons are said to constitute the most valuable products of the chemical industry. The rapid growth in both capacity and consumption that has characterized the industry in the past is continuing. The properties are generally similar, and statistics frequently lump all nylons together. This report is limited to nylon 6, except insofar as superficial comparisons are necessary to give a valid analysis of this nylon. The results of an extensive study of worldwide literature and process designs based on nonproprietary information are presented.