Repolymerized Nylon 6
Application Description: First commercial use of injection-molded repolymerized nylon 6 resin in the automotive industry. Replaces sand-cast & machined aluminum part. Achieved functional performance while restricted to using aluminum design that wasn't optimized for plastics.	Single Most Unique Feature: First commercial use of repolymerized nylon 6 resin (made from recycled caprolactam captured from reclaimed nylon 6 carpeting from commercial office buildings).
Process Descriptions: Injection molding	First Usage of Process?: No
Formerly Used Process: Sand-cast & machined aluminum or injection molded virgin nylon 6 resin	Tooling Innovations: Used family tool to mold upper and lower halves; multiple slides were required due to the complex geometry of the part.
Material Innovations: The resin is a special new material made from 50% recycled caprolactam feedstock, captured from reclaimed nylon 6 carpeting from commercial office buildings. The recycled caprolactam is combined with virgin caprolactam and polymerized into nylon 6, which can then be compounded with colorants (in this case, black), fillers (in this case, 33% chopped glass fiber), and other modifiers. Its use in this application represents the first commercial use of repoly nylon 6 and provides Ford with an additional 0.33 lb (0.15 kg) post-consumer recycle (PCR) content on the vehicles.	Mass Savings: The repoly nylon 6 part is 18 oz (510g) lighter than aluminum spacer it replaces.  (It weighs the same as 33% glass-filled virgin nylon 6 spacer would).
Cost Savings: There was a 20% piece-cost savings due to elimination of secondary-finishing operations.	Cost Avoidance:  There was a cost-avoidance savings of 54% related to tooling and capital investment for machining equipment to meet capacity-planning volumes.
Direct Consumer Benefit: The only direct consumer benefit related to this part is the weight reduction that will help make the vehicles more fuel efficient; however, there are a number of indirect benefits related to the environment.	Is Technology Transferable?: Yes, this is very translatable. Since it offers properties comparable to virgin, repoly nylon 6 and can be used anywhere virgin nylon 6 is used and in many places where nylon 6,6 is used. Additionally, there are opportunities to shareshift from other plastics and many metal parts.
Significant Safety Benefit: There are no NEW safety benefits to this application. It performs with the same NVH performance as the aluminum spacer it replaces.	Significant Environmental Benefit: Since it offers a weight reduction vs. aluminum, the nylon part helps make the vehicle slightly more fuel efficient. Because the repolymerization process delivers material with the full property retention of virgin, it allows OEMs to gain PCR content in demanding applications where mechanically recycled (reground/remelted) polymer would not be able to compete due to potential property losses. Half of the material's precursor is obtained by depolymerizing worn nylon 6 carpet reclaimed from office buildings -- a feedstream normally sent to landfills -- & the depolymerization plant is also set up to use molded nylon parts. At full capacity, the plant will divert an est. 200-million lb of nylon carpet & parts from landfills each year. This also leads to a reduction in the use of oil & energy (vs. the cost to produce virgin caprolactam) & a resulting reduction in pollution required to create this energy. At full capacity, the depolymerization plant will save an est. 5-trillion BTUs of energy annually -- enough to heat 100,000 average U.S. homes for a year.
	Additional Information: Visteon Corporation has taken a leadership role in supporting Ford Motor Company’s corporate recycling strategy and objectives by utilizing a Honeywell post-consumer-recycled (PCR) nylon 6 resin for a powertrain component application. This application represents the first commercial use of repolymerized (vs. mechanically remelted / recycled) nylon 6 (PA 6) resin in the automotive industry§. The "engine–mounted" component application is the 5.4L throttle-body adapter for select Econoline® vans, F-Series® pickups, and Excursion® sport-utilities with a total volume of approximately 130,000 units / year. The roughly 1-lb (0.45-kg) component is injection molded from 30%-glass-filled Infinity™ Q40-G6AHS-BK102 repolymerized nylon 6 resin, replacing a sand-cast and machined aluminum part. The plastic throttle-body adapter meets all of the performance requirements (NVH, power, torque, durability, etc.) of the aluminum adapter, but does so at a significant weight (18 oz / 510 g) and cost (20%) savings, while also helping to increase the post-consumer-recycle (PCR) content for select 5.4L applications. As mentioned, this application is the first commercial use of repolymerized (vs. mechanically remelted / recycled) nylon 6 (PA 6) resin in the automotive industry§ that offers performance and aesthetic properties comparable to virgin resin. § Definitions: 1. Mechanical recycling of plastics = melt reprocessing. Here, the plastic just changes phase (solid to liquid to solid), but properties can be lost on each phase change. Worse, it is not always possible to detect which properties will be affected and how much of those properties will be lost. 2. Chemical recycling of plastics = repolymerizing. The plastic is first depolymerized back to its feedstock, then repolymerized and built into a polymer again with no measurable property loss. The repoly resin can then be further compounded with glass and/or mineral fillers, colorants, and various other additives to achieve all the excellent performance properties that are typical of nylon 6 resin. Chemical recycling of nylon 6 carpeting into Infinity™ resin offers the advantages of: o Delivering recycled materials with full property retention. o Diverting an estimated 200-million lb of nylon 6 carpeting and molded parts from landfills each year. o Reducing petroleum consumption and pollution by using recycled caprolactam, helping keep our air and water cleaner. o Saving an estimated 5-trillion BTUs of energy annually – enough to heat 100,000 average U.S. homes for a year. o Promoting closed-loop recycling. o Helping make nylon 6 production a sustainable and annually renewable process. o Even with the best of current technology, it is virtually impossible to distinguish between the virgin caprolactam used to make a product like Capron® nylon 6 resin and the recycled caprolactam used to make Infinity™ nylon 6 resin.