INVISTA Nylon Chemicals (China) Co. celebrated the full operation of its Asia Innovation Center (AIC) with an opening ceremony held at the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) on October 12. Serving as a key capability within INVISTA’s global R&D network and the company’s first R&D center for nylon 6,6 application development in Asia, the AIC is positioned to broaden the possibilities for application development in engineering polymers and provide superior innovative solutions for customers in Asia.
Innovating development of new nylon 6,6 applications to drive growth with partners and customers
With the pursuit of safer and more energy-saving applications in downstream fields, notably automobiles, manufacturers are seeking advanced nylon 6,6 solutions to improve application performance at reduced costs. Staying close to customers’ needs, INVISTA has invested more than 95 million RMB ($15 million USD) to provide cutting edge equipment and professional support to establish local expertise in engineering polymer formulations, applications, design, and testing.
The 2,500-square-meter (over 26,000 square feet) lab is equipped with melt processing capabilities and a wide range of aging and mechanical testing equipment to determine key engineering polymer properties such as tensile and impact strength, hydrolysis resistance and flammability, as well as thermal transitions in polymer, including melting point temperature and crystallization temperature. To accelerate innovative outcomes, the center has also established capability in CAD/CAE to simulate and the behavior of nylon polymer under stress in real part dimensions.
Carrie Parker, global R&D Manager, Nylon Polymer, INVISTA said, “Innovation is core to INVISTA, and the new Asia Innovation Center shall lend a strong support in co-creating new application solutions with our customers through process of material development, component manufacturing and practical applications, enhancing our nylon 6,6 value chain to meet evolving customer demands. Moving forward, INVISTA will continue to work closely with partners to unleash new possibilities for downstream fields.”
Located near INVISTA’s integrated nylon 6,6 facilities, the AIC contributes to INVISTA’s nylon 6,6 value chain, which also includes the new ADN production facility that will deploy INVISTA’s proprietary, butadiene-based ADN technology. In addition to advantages in commercial scale and overall efficiency, INVISTA’s ADN technology and manufacturing process result in up to 60% lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to propylene-based ADN and up to 80% lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to adipic acid-based ADN *.
