Invista: Development of new PA 12 monomer technology

Invista has several patents pending on a new PA 12 monomer technology, which the global polymer company is soon going to produce at pilot scale. The new technology would position Invista as a significant supplier of PA 12 polymer. Invista expects to begin product qualifications as early as 2015. After that, the company plans to begin scale up of the new process and prepare for full scale manufacturing.

"If the pilot is successful, Invista would become the first new, fully integrated PA 12 producer in more than 30 years," said Ed Sullivan, global business director "C12" intermediates. "In addition, based upon results to date, we believe Invista´s PA 12 technology is simpler and more efficient than existing technologies. Our PA 12 chemical intermediates were critical to assisting the market during the industry’s shortage in 2012. Since then, in an effort to provide this market with more supply options, we have been researching novel approaches to the production of PA 12 monomer and other long chain molecules."

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PA 12 is a key component found in many challenging and safety-critical applications, such as automotive fuel lines, brake lines, natural gas transport lines and some medical devices.

"During the last several years, Invista´s businesses have made significant investments in product and application development capabilities and manufacturing assets for a growing range of polymers and engineered compounds,” said Kurt Burmeister, executive vice president, Engineering Polymers. "These investments are based on the company’s existing integrated production of intermediate materials and its polymerization expertise. We are now applying these capabilities to the high-performance polyamide value chain, including polymers such as PA 6,6, PA 6,12 and PA 12."

More information: www.invista.com

Invista Resins & Fibers GmbH, Hattersheim am Main, Germany