Rare-Earth Innovation to Improve Nylon Manufacturing

Rare Earth Deposits & Mining / Rare Earth Exploration, Mining, Processing, & Uses

Date posted: 03/19/15

The Critical Materials Institute, a U.S. Department of Energy Innovation Hub, has created a new chemical process that makes use of the widely available rare-earth metal cerium to improve the manufacture of nylon. The process uses a cerium-based material made into nanometer-sized particles with a palladium catalyst to produce cyclohexanone, a key ingredient in the production of nylon. Traditional methods of producing cyclohexanone involve high temperatures and high pressure, and necessitate the use of hydrogen. After a lot of trials, we managed to find a reaction that works very well at room temperature and ambient pressure, said CMI scientist Igor Slowing. That is a huge advantage cost-wise. It is more energy efficient, and requires much less hydrogen.