Biobased and Biodegradable Furandicarboxylate Polyesters: Linking Molecular Structure to Enzymatic Hydrolyzability.
Vangeel T, Matt Y, Becker L, Siegenthaler KO, Sander M
Biodegradable Plastics
The mulch film you peel off your raised beds at season's end could someday fully disappear into the soil — no microplastic residue — if it's made from the corn-derived polyesters this research is helping design.
Scientists are working on plastics made from plants instead of oil that can fully break down when microbes are done with them. They tested how well two natural enzymes — essentially biological scissors produced by fungi — could cut apart 30 different versions of these plastics. They found that plant-based plastics broke apart faster than oil-based ones, and that changing the length of the molecular chains in the recipe lets engineers dial in exactly how fast the plastic will degrade.
Key Findings
Plant-based furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) polyesters were consistently more enzyme-degradable than petroleum-based terephthalate equivalents at the same aromatic content.
Increasing aromatic diacid content in the polymer decreased hydrolysis rates for both enzyme types tested.
The Humicola insolens cutinase enzyme was active across all 30 copolyesters tested, while Rhizopus oryzae lipase only degraded those with low aromatic content.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers tested how well two microbial enzymes break down a new class of plant-derived plastics, finding that plastics made from a corn-based building block degrade faster than conventional petroleum-based equivalents, and that tweaking the plastic's chemical recipe can tune how quickly it breaks down in the environment.
Abstract Preview
Biobased, biodegradable polyesters are key to advancing a circular polymer economy by ensuring complete microbial utilization of such polyesters in targeted receiving environments. Extracellular en...
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