Mitsubishi To Build Mxd6 Nylon Plant In U.S.

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical America Inc. says construction will begin in Virginia by mid-year on a plant for production of the company’s MXD6 high-barrier nylon. The plant’s output will be sold in Nafta.

The plant is to be built in Chesterfield County, just south of Richmond, VA, and will have nameplate capacity of 10,000 tonnes/yr. Start-up is scheduled for 2004. The plant will be the first production facility for the material (which includes several grades) outside Japan.

MXD6 nylon is made in a similar way to nylon 66, but its partially aromatic structure — MXD stands for m-xylylenediamine — provides much higher gas barrier. It is used in a variety of flexible food packaging applications. It also finds use as a barrier in multilayer pet bottles.

The nylon’s main competitor in barrier applications is EVOH resin.