More than two million metric tons of nylon are produced every year to make clothes, ropes, fishing nets, and parachutes, etc. Petroleum-based raw materials are used, wasting immense amounts of energy. A new way to create the key building block of nylon from plant-based sources combines a low-energy chemical process and bacterial transformation of chemicals, that could slash the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Accessing bio-based waste as feedstock could make the synthesis process sustainable.
www.ufz.de/index.php?en=36336&webc_pm=26/2023#:~:text=A%20research%20team%20from%20the,and%20the%20use%20of%20microorganisms.