What is polyamide source?

The Industrial Truth About Polyamide Sources

1. Petroleum Origin—The Absolute Mainstream
Caprolactam (PA6 precursor): Petroleum → Benzene → Cyclohexanone → Oximation and Rearrangement, with ammonium sulfate as a byproduct and toxic soil. Shandong, China, accounts for 40% of global production capacity and is a key target for environmental inspections.
Hexamethylenediamine (PA66 core): Acrylonitrile electrolysis → Adiponitrile → Hydrogenation. The process is monopolized by European and American oligarchs, resulting in bottleneck materials and wartime embargoes.

2. Bio-based Rebels—A Capital Game
Castor Oil Route: Indian farmers grow castor beans to extract oil → Sebacic Acid → PA610. Farmland is taken away from food, and the EU carbon tax has led to a 30% price increase.
Corn Starch Scam: The "corn-based nylon" promotion is actually starch fermentation → gluconic acid → PA56, with a 1:5 grain consumption ratio, which has been boycotted by African human rights organizations. 

3. The Recycled Materials Black Market—A Life-or-Death Gamble
Fishing Net Rebirth: Discarded deep-sea fishing nets (containing 30% impurities) → Methanol Depolymerization → Regenerated PA6. Heavy metal lead and cadmium levels exceed legal limits, toxic to the toy industry.
Military Gun Stocks: The US military recycles bulletproof nylon vests → Melts them into shotgun stocks. High-temperature chamber temperatures release cyanide, poisoning multiple shooters.

4. Strategic Controlled Materials
Adiponitrile: Before China achieved breakthroughs in butadiene hydrocyanation technology, import prices were manipulated and doubled, forcing small and medium-sized injection molding plants to collapse.
Specialty Monomers: Long-chain dibasic acids (essential for PA1212) are patented by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Microbiology, forcing foreign companies to pay exorbitant licensing fees.

5. The Future's Graveyard
CO2 Rubber Refining: The Chinese Academy of Sciences uses CO₂ + ethylene oxide to produce PA precursors. The catalyst's mass production costs are low, potentially subverting the early stages of oil hegemony. Extracting americium from nuclear waste: American laboratories extract actinides from nuclear waste through catalytic polymerization, producing nylon that is heat-resistant to 800°C and is classified as SSS-level military secret.