NyLester resin pellets made with recycled green PET.
A patent-pending engineering resin that blends a proprietary nylon with 90% recycled PET is newly available by young startup company Nyltec Polymers, Marietta, Ga. Aside from its very favorable sustainability profile, NyLester has been positioned to compete with nylon 6. Nyltec Polymers Recycled PET Nylon Resin
Company president Patrick Patin says, their process is mechanical.
“We blend our proprietary and patent-pending mix of nylons directly with recycled or virgin PET to make NyLester with no additional additives or chemical processes (just dry hoppers and an extruder).
However, NyLester will accept additives, just like nylon 6 for reinforcement etc.”
The company will also aim to license the NyLester resin technology to select companies globally by selling NyLester as an additive masterbatch.
“We are planning to sell our masterbatch internationally and have our customers, recyclers or distributors compound it with locally sourced recycled or virgin PET.
You see, every container of the masterbatch will make 10 containers of NyLester resins, so not only will this be more cost effective but it’s also more environmentally friendly by shipping 90% less material around the globe. Nyltec Polymers Recycled PET Nylon Resin
While working on a different project, the Nyltec team discovered that their masterbatch blends completely and naturally with PET upcycling it into an engineering resin that matches the physical properties of nylon 6 in almost every way (NyLester isn’t brittle like nylon 6), while maintaining the best properties of both PET and nylon: heat resistance, chemical and corrosion resistance, impact resistance, and flexibility.
Excellent durability and surface appearance are also claimed for NyLester which is said to “fall right out of the mold”—no sticking, or mess, and is well suited for injection molding, extrusion, blow molding, rotomolding, and thermoforming of a broad range of products where nylon 6 is used, including automotive components. Nyltec Polymers Recycled PET Nylon Resin
Says Patin, “After having NyLester tested at ARDL (Akron Rubber Development Laboratory) back in September of 2018, we knew we had something the market wanted and needed. So, we decided to form Nyltec Polymers.
But despite being so new, we have managed to find companies willing to run some trials with NyLester in several different markets including 3D Fusion Printing (SLS) at FormLabs, contract carpet in Dalton, GA, and are now working with an injection molder in China who makes hundreds of different products. Nyltec Polymers Recycled PET Nylon Resin
He’s going to feed PET and our masterbatch in-line directly into his injection molding machine, saving him time and money since our masterbatch will yield him NyLester at a price that is well below the cost of nylon 6 in China (and America, by the way)… by a significant margin even after international shipping and customs fees.”
Whereas nylon 6 is currently selling for around $1.70/lb, if not more through distributors, Nyltec is aiming to sell NyLester to the majority of its buyers for $1.35/lb.