“SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT
A GOAL TO BE REACHED
BUT A WAY OF THINKING,
A WAY OF BEING, A PRINCIPLE
WE MUST BE GUIDED BY.”
GIULIO BONAZZI – CHAIRMAN, AQUAFIL GROUP
Imagine if you could turn old waste into something brand new and
beautiful. The ECONYL® brand does just this: we turn nylon waste into
prime material for industrial manufacturing.
As we all know waste is a by-product of any industrial production.
What if we could somehow turn this concept upside down? This is
exactly our idea: We reduce the amount of global waste by collecting
it from landfills and oceans and feeding it back into production cycles.
As people working for the ECONYL® brand we invest our commitment,
determination and skill to make these dreams, ideas and values come
true. By that we create processes and products that help make tomorrow
a better place to live. A place, where industrial production goes hand
in hand with respect for the environment. A place, where sustainable
technologies, processes and products with low environmental impact
dominate the landscape of global markets.
THE
ECONYL®
REGENERATION SYSTEM
AN INTELLIGENT AND SUSTAINABLE WAY
TO CREATE PRODUCTS FROM WASTE IN
A CONTINUOUS LOOP.
THE ECONYL® REGENERATION SYSTEM CONSISTS
OF SIX PRODUCTION STEPS THAT FORM A
CLOSED LOOP.
1 ECONYL®
WASTE RESCUE
WORLDWIDE POLYAMIDE WASTE RESCUE
The ECONYL® reclaiming program is the first step of the ECONYL® Regeneration System. Nylon waste is collected in different
areas around the world. It is sent to the ECONYL® waste collection and treatment center in Ajdovščina, Slovenia. From there it is
forwarded to the nearby regeneration plant located in Ljubljana.
The pre-consumer waste we collect includes production discards, industrial plastic components and oligomers.
Our supply chains that provide post-consumer waste are becoming more and more important. We collect products at the end of
their life cycle- fishing nets, fabrics and fluff from carpet flooring.
We aim to work in synergy with clients and institutions, particularly in the BCF sector, where we assist yarn manufacturers to collect
old carpets and rugs.
Currently, we reclaim waste throughout Canada (British Columbia), USA, Greece, Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Thailand and Norway, and
we are constantly exploring new opportunities.
2 ECONYL®
WASTE PREPARATION
STORAGE AND PREPARATION OF WASTE
Ajdovščina (Slovenia) near Ljubljana, is the place where the collected waste begins its journey back to its origins. In this waste
treatment center, the different types of waste are cleaned and prepared for depolymerization. As part of the cleaning process,
foreign materials other than nylon 6 - organic, plastic or metallic materials - are removed and sent to other supply chains. The
cleaned nylon waste is shredded, compacted, bagged and transported to the ECONYL® regeneration plant in Ljubljana.
OUR GOAL: 100% POST-CONSUMER WASTE
WE TREAT IN OUR PLANT MORE THAN
1,000
TONS OF
ECONYL® POLYMER
THE WORLD IS FREED OF MORE THAN
EVERY MONTH
1,000
TONS OF
PA6 EQUIVALENT WASTE
3 ECONYL®
DEPOLYMERIZATION
THE ECONYL® DEPOLYMERIZATION PLANT
At the heart of the ECONYL® Regeneration System stands a miracle: the ECONYL® depolymerization process. What makes this
step so innovative and superior to the processes used by our competitors? The difference – and this is quite a miracle – lies in our
system that gives us a very high ratio of nylon output compared to the waste input. Until recently, depolymerization at a scale that
is commercially viable has been deemed impossible in the synthetic fibers sector. The cost was simply too high since only very little
nylon could be gained from huge amounts of waste.
We have invented a radically new purification process that is less complex than others applied in the industry. As a result, less
energy and water is utilized, there is less residual waste and more first-grade nylon is produced.
CREATING THE MIRACLE: 100% REGENERATION
TO ARRIVE AT
RECYCLING
VIRGIN QUALITY
4 ECONYL®
POLYMERIZATION
THE ECONYL® POLYMERIZATION PLANT
Our two polymerization plants are located in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Arco (Italy). The ECONYL® caprolactam we produce has
the same chemical and performance characteristics as caprolactam from raw fossil material. Hence, the process and chemical
methods of transforming the ECONYL® caprolactam into nylon 6 polymers – what is known as polymerization – are identical to
polymerization of virgin caprolactam.
5 ECONYL®
TRANSFORMATION
TRANSFORMATION OF PA6 POLYMERS
The PA6 polymers produced from ECONYL® caprolactam are distributed to our production facilities where they are processed
into BCF yarn (carpet flooring yarn) and NTF yarn (textile yarn).
6 ECONYL®
RE-COMMERCIALIZATION
COMMERCIALIZATION INTO YARNS
From ECONYL® caprolactam we process two types of products: BCF yarns for synthetic carpet flooring and NTF yarns for textiles.
We market these products to our customers who produce goods for their final markets.
When we speak of re-commercialization, we want to rewrite the
rules for producing man-made fibers. Our goal is to manufacture
products that are not only entirely made of regenerated material,
but are fully and endlessly regenerable.
Our process starts at the beginning by designing products that are
suitable for remanufacturing and finishing with the collection and
regeneration of post-consumer waste. It’s a process that forms a
closed loop in the truest sense.
THINKING
AHEAD,
CREATING
REGENERABLE
PRODUCTS
FACTS & FIGURES
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF ECONYL® CAPROLACTAM
FOUR YEARS AND
€25M
WERE SPENT ON THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN
AND BUILDING OF THE CHEMICAL SYSTEM AND DEPOLYMERIZATION PLANT
(Source: Aquafil Internal data, 2013)
WE HAVE RECOVERED NYLON 6 FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
CANADA, USA, NORWAY, GREECE,
TURKEY, EGYPT, PAKISTAN, THAILAND
IN 2015, THE PRODUCTION OF ECONYL CAPROLACTAM WILL SAVE MORE THAN
100,000
TONS OF CO2 EMISSIONS - EQUIVALENT TO A CAR
CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE EQUATOR MORE THAN 15,000 TIMES.
(Fonte: Dati interni Aquafil)
IN 2015, THE PRODUCTION OF ECONYL CAPROLACTAM WILL SAVE MORE THAN
2M
GJ OF ENERGY - EQUIVALENT TO THE ENERGY DEMAND OF CITIZENS OF
ROME FOR ABOUT 10 DAYS.
(Fonte: Dati interni Aquafil)
PRODUCTS
FOR EVERY TON OF FISH NET RECOVERED AND REGENERATED,
WE WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH YARN FOR MORE THAN
26,000
PAIR OF SOCKS
ASSUMPTION: 50% ECONYL® CONTENT IN SOCK
(Source: Aquafil Internal data)
FOR EVERY TON OF FISH NET RECOVERED AND REGENERATED,
WE WILL PRODUCE ENOUGH YARN FOR MORE THAN
1,000
METERS2 OF CARPET
TOTAL PILE WEIGHT= 600 G/M2
(Source: Aquafil Internal data)
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© 2014 Aquafil S.p.A.
ECONYL® is a trademark of Aquafil S.p.A.
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