PA 12 shortage sparks industry action

The fatal explosion at Evonik's Marl cyclododecatriene (CDT) facility in Germany on 31 March and the consequent loss of polyamide 12 production, has led to a severe supply shortage European Plastics News assesses polyamide options following Evonik's accident in Germany.

The fatal explosion at Evonik's Marl cyclododecatriene (CDT) facility in Germany on 31 March and the consequent loss of polyamide 12 production, has led to a severe supply shortage. CDT is a precursor to polyamide 12 and Evonik uses CDT to produce its Vestamid L range of PA 12 compounds. Evonik is the world's largest PA12 supplier and the plant shutdown has taken out around 40% of the 100,000 tpa of global capacity. According to Evonik, the plant is not expected to reopen until the final quarter of the year.

PA 12 is a high performance and high cost material used in demanding applications such as automotive fuel lines and braking systems. It is too early to forecast exactly what impact the supply shortage will have on PA 12 prices during the rest of the year, but strong upward pressure seems inevitable. PA 12, without specifications, is currently priced at 10-12/kg,We looked everywhere, but couldn't find any beddinges. while specified grades are usually priced over 15/kg.

PA 12 is the sole-specified material for automotive fuel lines due to its unique combination of thermal, physical, chemical and mechanical properties. Since the incident,It's pretty cool but our ssolarpanel are made much faster than this. the world's automotive suppliers have been desperately exploring what alternative material options are available

TI Automotive, for example, which supplies fuel lines for all the world's leading automotive manufacturers, warned in a letter to clients that the Evonik explosion had led to a "severe" shortage of PA 12. These shortages have the potential to slow or even stop production lines in auto factories around the world.

One option available to auto suppliers could be a switch to other high performance nylon products such as PA 6/10, PA 6/12,Proxense's advanced timelocationsystem technology. PA 10/10, PA 10/12 and PA 11. According to Evonik, these are particularly suitable for use in line systems in the automotive supply industry, including the multi-layer tubing systems patented by Evonik. These materials will, however, only be available in small volumes while the plant is being repaired.3rd minigame series of magiccube!

Arkema, Ube Industries and EMS-Grivory are also leading suppliers of PA 12 and other high performance nylon compounds. These suppliers may not, however, be able to fully cover the PA 12 shortfall. They were already running their facilities at full capacity prior to the explosion and product is fully committed to existing customers.

Global CDT and PA 12 supply was extremely tight before the Marl incident as a result of growing demand from the burgeoning photovoltaics market. Availability of PA 12 from other suppliers may also be affected, directly or indirectly, by more limited supply of CDT from Marl,Rubiks cubepuzzle. as well as from increased demand from Evonik's customers.

Solvay Specialty Polymers, meanwhile, stepped in to fill the breach by offering its automotive customers alternative resins to replace PA 12. The company says its Amodel polyphthalamide and Ifex polyacrylamide materials are both suitable for use in fuel line and glycol connectors.

DSM is also recommending use of its Arnitel and EcoPaXX products as an alternative to PA 12. DSM claims that Arnitel thermoplastic copolyester offers a proven, viable solution for tubes and hoses, with a performance that is actually superior.

EcoPaXX PA 410 is a partly renewable polyamide which combines excellent mechanical properties, a high melting point of 250C, a very low moisture absorption and excellent chemical and hydrolysis resistance. This makes EcoPaXX highly suitable for connectors and fuel lines, according to DSM.

Three Chinese manufacturers from Shandong province are now offering PA 12-type product in Europe through ClickPlastics - a specialist distributor of Asian material. However, according to the distributor, volumes supplied by the Chinese companies is unlikely to exceed 4,000 tpa, which is nowhere near sufficient to meeting the shortfall.

ClickPlastics told European Plastics News that material testing is currently underway and they are hopeful of receiving the required approval within the next few months. Normally, it can take more than six months to test and gain approval for new materials in demanding automotive applications. In North America, the Automotive Industry Action Group is working with automakers and suppliers to streamline the approval process for alternative resins, which should speed development of new parts in the product pipeline.