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Rhodianyl®: A pioneering polymer for a circular economy

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Our Rhodianyl® solution is a pioneering polymer. It’s made from 100% pre-consumer recycled polyamide, something that’s made possible by our use of chemical recycling technology. Transforming post-industrial scraps into 6.6 polymers, Rhodianyl® forms part of the circular economy, and part of Solvay’s commitment to sustainability.

Solvay’s Rhodianyl® polymers have a product carbon footprint (PCF) of 0.92 kgCO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). The CO2e expresses the impact of emissions from different greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential, and the Rhodianyl® PCF is around 85%* lower than the equivalent for our virgin polymer.   

Solvay has a decades-long history of producing polyamide 6.6 polymers. We’ve been at the forefront of polymer technology since the 1950s and are committed to continuing to enhance Rhodianyl®. That includes strengthening its ability to protect the environment by offering sustainable raw material for different industries.

We’re proud of our work to date on this – of our ability to support the circular economy while helping our customers reduce theirPCF PFC. And we’re excited to continue expanding and enhancing our offering in this area. 

*Calculated by our Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) team using the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 LCA standards. We’re currently working to certify this with the Carbon Trust – with a verified figure expected towards the end of 2024. Please note that this number may change in the future.

A versatile solution

Because we use chemical recycling – rather than conventional mechanical recycling – for our Rhodianyl® polymers, we’re able to create polymers that are both high-performance and sustainable. 

This makes Solvay and Rhodianyl® well-suited to partnering with industries that have particularly high quality and performance requirements. Delivering a market-leading product that allows our customers to work on lowering their greenhouse gas emissions, without compromising on quality. 

Incredibly versatile, Rhodianyl® is widely used in a range of sectors including automotive, electronics, textile and engineering plastics. We see especially strong potential for the use of recycled polymers and for Rhodianyl® to make a significant impact in the textile industry.   

With Rhodianyl® we can help our customers reduce their product carbon footprint, while also meeting recycled content targets.

Eduardo Girote, Marketing Director

Eco design: Recyclable Rhodianyl® uniforms

Our commitment to sustainability is not limited to our offering to customers. It runs through our business and is also reflected within the company – down to what we wear. 

One example is the recyclable uniforms we created for employees at Rhodia, a company that is part of the Solvay group. Made entirely from recycled polyamide 6.6, the staff uniforms are designed to be recycled into new material once they're no longer in use – underlining our focus on circularity. 

By integrating our recycling technology into everyday items worn by our staff, we not only reduce waste and help limit the extraction of virgin raw materials. We’re also directly involving our employees in our sustainability practices. 

An innovative approach to recycled polyamide

A central reason that Solvay can produce recycled polyamide 6.6 for the textile industry and other sectors is that we use chemical recycling. 

With traditional mechanical recycling, there is a limit to how many times a material can be recycled, as the material tends to degrade slightly each time it goes through the process. It’s also more difficult to achieve consistency with mechanical recycling, and the quality of the recycled material often varies from batch to batch. 

In contrast, the chemical recycling technology that Solvay uses sees the larger molecules (polymers) in plastic waste broken down into smaller molecules (monomers). These are then reformulated and fed back into the plastic production process to provide raw material for new products. This process, in which the different steps are easier to control, doesn’t face the degradation challenge of mechanical recycling. 

Looking to the future of polymers

Always focused on progress, development and continued innovation, we’re looking at what the future holds for Rhodianyl® and for our polymer expertise. Our goal is to enhance our ability to reclaim waste by increasing the materials that can be recycled and reused. Next steps include the ambition to also recycle post-consumer waste. 

One current recycling challenge is the difficulty of separating elastane from polyamide in post-consumer textiles. This is an important issue given that more than 90% of polyamide textiles contain elastane to enhance flexibility. Solvay is currently involved in a project focused on developing a process that will enable polyamide-elastane separation. 

We also aim to help educate both the markets we work with and the public about the importance of considering sustainability from the start of the material and product lifecycle.  

Reducing emissions, protecting nature

Our Paulínia facility in Brazil plays a crucial role in producing nylon salt, the key raw material for Rhodianyl® polymers. The site also stands out for its environmental achievements – having cut scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 emissions by an impressive 95%.  

And in 2021, Solvay’s work to conserve the existing fauna and flora in Paulínia received a Gold Certification from the Wildlife Habitat Council for protecting biodiversity in industrial areas. These efforts are part of Solvay's broader goal to reduce our environmental impact across all areas of our business, and all regions we operate in. 

 

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