Patent ID: 7550516

Claim:
A method for recovering nylon from a nylon-containing material, comprising: contacting the nylon-containing material with an alkanol-containing solvent in a mixing vessel, wherein at least a portion of the mixture of nylon-containing material and alkanol-containing solvent is withdrawn from the mixing vessel and returned to the mixing vessel at a high flow rate; increasing the temperature and pressure of the mixture until a pressure is reached that is higher than the equilibrium pressure of the alkanol-containing solvent, and until the temperature is between 130° C. and 155° C. thereby dissolving the nylon in the alkanol-containing solvent; removing the alkanol-containing solvent containing dissolved nylon from any undissolved solids; and decreasing the temperature, or pressure, or both, of the alkanol-containing solvent containing dissolved nylon to precipitate the dissolved nylon.