Waste wood yields nylon precursor at record rate

GOLDEN — Researchers from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say they have created a process that converts lignin — a structural polymer abundant in plant cell walls — into adipic acid, a primary precursor for nylon-6,6, at a yield higher than any previously reported method.

The new process chains together several industrial steps, according to their study, published in Nature. Existing biological methods top out at around 20 weight per cent (wt%) yield — too low for cost-competitive manufacturing - but the new process claims a yield of 26 wt% .