Process for bio-based nylon

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Until now, nylon has been produced from petroleum-based raw materials. However, this is quite harmful to the environment because non-renewable fossil resources are used, a great deal of energy is required, and climate-damaging nitrous oxide is emitted during production. A research team from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the Leipzig University has now developed a process that can produce adipic acid, one of two building blocks of nylon, from phenol through electrochemical synthesis and the use of microorganisms. The team also showed that phenol can be replaced by waste materials from the wood industry. This could then be used to produce bio-based nylon. The research work was published in Green Chemistry. In T-shirts, stockings, shirts, and ropes - or as a component of parachutes and car tyres - polyamides are used everywhere as synthetic fibres.