Engineered bacterial enzyme turns plastic waste into useful chemicals
Qiao J, Song Y, Zhao N, Duan P, Li X
Plastic Pollution
The plastic mulch film and drip-irrigation tubing degrading in garden beds and farm fields eventually breaks down into microplastics in soil, so better ways to recycle PET before it fragments matter for the dirt under your feet.
Researchers took an enzyme from bacteria and tweaked its shape so it works much better at breaking down a byproduct of recycled plastic bottles into a useful raw chemical. The redesigned enzyme also holds up better to heat, metals, and solvents, which makes it more practical for real-world recycling plants. This kind of work could eventually mean less plastic waste piling up in landfills and drifting into soil and waterways.
Key Findings
Engineered variant ΔBarrier2 achieved a 3.1-fold increase in yield of the valuable monomer MHET from the plastic intermediate BHET
Variant ΔBarrier3 showed a 3.2-fold gain in catalytic efficiency and 3.5-fold better residual activity after heating to 60°C
ΔBarrier2 produced 7.2-fold more product in calcium-containing conditions, while ΔBarrier3 retained 2.3-fold higher activity in 50% isopropanol
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists re-engineered a bacterial enzyme so it can break down a key plastic-recycling intermediate into a valuable chemical building block, making PET recycling more efficient and less energy-intensive.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Overcoming catalytic barriers to reprogram acyltransferases for bis(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate hydrolysis.
The extensive use of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has resulted in severe environmental pollution and ecological stress. Despite advances in PET recycling, current processes struggle to achieve ...
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