NYLON-66

Introduction
There are several polyamides, which have been developed as
fibres. The generic word for these products is 'Nylon'. Nylon is
defined as a generic term for any long chain synthetic polymeric
amide which has recurring amide groups as an integral part of
the main polymer chain and which is capable of being formed
into a filament in which the structural elements are oriented in
the
direction
of
the
axis.
DuPont researchers led by Dr. Wallace Carothers, invented nylon66 polymer in the 1930s. Nylon, the generic name for a group of
synthetic fibers, was the first of the miracle yarns made
entirely from chemical ingredients through the process of
polymerization. Nylon 66 polymer chip can be extruded through
spinnerets into fiber filaments or molded and formed into a
variety of finished engineered structures.Nylon-66 fibre is a
member of the large group of polycondensation products of
dicarboxylic acids and diamines with fibre forming properties.
The individual member refers to the number of carbon atoms
respectively in the diamine and dicarboxylic acid chains.

Nylon-66 (polyhexamethylene diamine adipamide) is a polyamide made from

adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine by polycondensation. The resulting
polymer is extruded into a wide range of fiber types. The fibers are drawn, or
stretched, in a process that increases their length and reorients the materials
molecules parallel to one another to produce a strong, elastic filament. The
thermo-plasticity of nylon permits permanent crimping or texturing of the fibers
and provides bulk and stretch properties.
The nylon developed by Carothers at Du Pont was nylon 66. Because of the
importance of starting out with equal amounts of the two reactants, salts of the
diamine and of the diacid are made and then used in the commercial synthesis
of nylon 66.

Chemical Reaction of Nylon-66

Raw materials of different Nylons

NYLON

RAW MATERIAL

Nylon 4,6
Nylon 6,6
Nylon 6, 1 0
Nylon 6,12

Nylon 3
Nylon 4
Nylon 6
Nylon 7
Nylon 11
Nylon 12

1 ,4 diamino butane, Adipic

acid
Hexamethylene diamine,
Adipic
acidHexamethylene
diamine, Sebacic
acidHexamethylenediamine,
Dodecanedioic acid
Acrylamide
2-pyrolidane
Caprolactum
Lactum of heptonoic acid
W-amino-cendecanoic acid
Dodelactum

Advantages of Nylon-66
Nylon 66 is superior in many applications to nylon 6the other large volume nylondue
to its outstanding dimensional stability, higher melting point, and more compact molecular
structure (see Figure 1). Nylon 66 exhibits only about half the shrinkage of nylon 6 in
steam, for instance. And, with a less open structure, the 66 fiber has good dye wash
fastness and UV light-fastness, and excellent performance in high-speed spinning
processes. Typical advantages of nylon 66 over nylon 6 are its
Higher tensile strength in use,
Excellent abrasion resistance, and
Higher melting point.

Nylon 66 provides high tensile strength for

Tough fibers at fine deniers,
Excellent performance for tyre applications, and
High-speed mill processing.
Excellent abrasion resistance makes nylon-66 polymer ideal for use in
Carpets,
Upholstery, and
Conveyor belts.
The rubber industry takes advantage of the higher melting point of nylon 66
in high-temperature tire curing. A high melting point also results in a fiber
with
High stretch and recovery in false-twist textured Yarns (e.g., hosiery and
socks) and
Thermal stability in high-temperature coating operations.

ADIPIC ACID MANUFACTURE

FROM CYCLOHEXANOL
Mostly cyclohexane (CH), cyclohexanol (CHL) and cyclohexanone (CNH) are
used to obtain adipic acid (ADA). For oxidation, only nitric acid and oxygen can
be used economically. The most important process is the oxidation of cyclohexanol
with 50% nitric acid at 60-70C. In a stainless steel kettle the cyclohexanol is
added to the acid under cooling and stirring, the acid is crystallized from water.
The yield exceeds 85%.
Hexamethylene Diamine - Manufacture
HMD is manufactured exclusively by the hydrogenation of the
dinitriles. Palladium is used as catalyst. Another effective catalyst
is cobalt oxide mixed with calcium oxide. In all cases, the
reaction must be carried out in the presence of excess ammonia.
Pure HMD is a colourless crystal, melting at 40C, B.P. 100C,
soluble in
water, and alcohol.

POLYMERISATION
Nylon-66 production from adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine
comprises four steps: (1) Salt preparation (2) Polycondensation (3)
Melting. (4) Extrusion. A schematic diagram of Nylon 66 polymer
formation
process
is
shown
in
Figure.

Nylon 66 Salt (NH salt)

High molecular weight nylon 66 is only obtained if equimolecular amounts of the

components are used. An excess of the components would terminate the chain by
formation of an acid or amino end group. So stoichiometric portions of
hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid must be used (amine to acid of 1:1). For this
reason, the salt of 1 mole adipic acid and hexamethylene diamine (AH salt) is used
as intermediate. The hexamethylene diamine is used as a 60-70% solution and the
adipic acid as a 20% solution. The monomers are fed and mixed in the mixer and
transferred to the prepolymeriser. Methanol is added and the reaction takes place.
Methanol can be refluxed. The separated salt is centrifuged and washed with
methanol. It is stored as a 60% solution in distilled water. It is a snow white crystal
(mp - 190C). Owing to all
these
constraints,
batch
processing
is
used.

POLYCONDENSATION
The concentrated salt solution is then fed to the polymerisation reactor,
where the second-stage of the reaction begins . 60% Aq. Solution of the salt
in distilled water, 0.5% acetic acid (stabilizer) is pumped into an autoclave.
Increased temperature and pressure are used to initiate the polymerisation
reaction. So the autoclave is heated to 275C. The pressure is generally kept
constant (1.8 MPa). Before the reaction, the autoclave is purged with very
pure nitrogen (less than 0.005% oxygen) to avoid degradation and
discoloration of the polymer. When the temperature of the batch reaches
275C, the pressure is allowed to fall to atmospheric pressure. The batch is
held at 270C and atmospheric pressure for half an hour to allow removal of
the water vapor. The heating is continued until all water has been distilled
off. Towards the end of the distillation, the autoclave is evacuated. The
polymer is obtained as a clear, low-viscous melt which is removed from the
autoclave by pressure with pure nitrogen. The melt is extruded through the
bottom of the reactor to form a ribbon. It is solidified and cooled in cold
water cut into chips and dried. The dried chips are stored in a storage hopper
in a similar manner like that of Nylon 6.

SPINNING
Nylon has sufficient stability of the melt and adequate
viscosity. So it can be spun in the molten state with usual
velocity (upto 2000 m/min). The polymer chips are fed to the
hopper and then it is melted and homogenized in an extruder.
The molten polymer after filtration is passed to the spinnerets.
The melt is pumped through this system and solidifies
immediately on contact with air. Cross air flow is used for
solidification. The melting temperature for spinning is around
300C. After spinning like nylon 6, the flows are stretched to
get the desired elongation. The different parameters which
can be varied to influence fibre properties are: (a) Mass
output, (b) Winding speed, (c) Spin draw ratio, (d) Draw ratio
and (e) Draw temperature. The properties which will be
considered are: tensile strength, elongation, modulus,
crystallinity and orientation.

Physical Properties of Nylon FIbre

Types of Nylon-66 products Manufactured

Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon
Nylon

66/6
66/6, 10% Glass Fiber Reinforced
66/6, 20% Glass Fiber Reinforced
66/6, 30% Glass Fiber Reinforced
66/6, 40% Glass Fiber Reinforced
66/6, Mineral Reinforced
66/6, 60% Glass Fiber Reinforced
66/Nylon 6 Blend, Glass Fiber Filled
66, Unreinforced
66, Impact Grade
66, Unreinforced, Flame Retardant
66, Heat Stabilized
66, Extruded
66, Film
66, Nucleated
66, PTFE Filled
66, MoS2 Filled
66, Glass Bead Filled
66, 30% glass filled, extruded

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