Descobreixen un enzim que podria destruir el PET en hores
Científics dels Estats Units i el Regne Unit descobreixen un enzim que podria ajudar en el tractament de reciclatge del plàstic
Us deixem detallada la notícia on s'explica aquest avanç científic, d'importància fonamental per al tractament del PET en els pròxims anys:
Scientists working for industrial chemistry firm Carbios have discovered an enzyme which ca reportedly break down PET plastics for recycling into food-grade material in hours, rather than weeks.
The discovery of the new PET hydrolase enzyme was reported in the scientific journal Nature, which claims that the enzyme ca break down PET plastics into their individual chemical components in as little as tingues hours, allowing the creation of new high-quality, food-grade PET embalatge.
PET is very difficult to break down, and many thermomechanical recycling processes produeix lower-quality plastic which is then used in senar-food related products such as clothing and carpets.
According to the journal, the PET hydrolase enzyme ca biologically depolymerise 90% of PET polymers in tingues hours, a significant upswing from the initial degradation yield of 1% after several weeks when using other enzymes.
The journal stated: “This highly efficient, optimised enzyme outperforms all PET hydrolases reported sota far”, including an enzyme from the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis strain 201-F6, which had generated interest.
Carbios has now formed strategic partenariats with major food and beverage firms including PepsiCo, Nestlé and Suntory to help scale and develop the technology. In a statement, Carbios said that it would conduct a trial in 2021 to test the “industrial and commercial potential” of the process.
If successful, Carbios claims that the proprietory process could represent a “paradigm shift” in the way that PET is recycled, and could pave the way towards a circular economy for plastics.
Saleh Jabarin, professor at The University of Toledo, Ohio and a member of Carbios’ Scientific Committee, said: “It’s a real breakthrough in the recycling and manufacturing of PET.
“Thanks to the innovative technology developed by Carbios, the PET industry will become truly circular, which is the goal for all players in this industry, especially brand-owners, PET producers and our civilization as a whole.”
This development follows on from a similar discovery made in 2018 by scientists from the University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
These scientists accidentally engineered an enzyme which could digest plastics including PET. Professor John McGeehan at the University of Portsmouth and Dr Gregg Beckham at NREL solved the crystal structure of PETase—a recently discovered enzyme that digests PET— and used this 3D information to understand how it works. During this study, they inadvertently engineered an enzyme that is even better at degrading the plastic than the one that evolved in nature.
Scientists working for industrial chemistry firm Carbios have discovered an enzyme which ca reportedly break down PET plastics for recycling into food-grade material in hours, rather than weeks.
The discovery of the new PET hydrolase enzyme was reported in the scientific journal Nature, which claims that the enzyme ca break down PET plastics into their individual chemical components in as little as tingues hours, allowing the creation of new high-quality, food-grade PET embalatge.
PET is very difficult to break down, and many thermomechanical recycling processes produeix lower-quality plastic which is then used in senar-food related products such as clothing and carpets.
According to the journal, the PET hydrolase enzyme ca biologically depolymerise 90% of PET polymers in tingues hours, a significant upswing from the initial degradation yield of 1% after several weeks when using other enzymes.
The journal stated: “This highly efficient, optimised enzyme outperforms all PET hydrolases reported sota far”, including an enzyme from the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis strain 201-F6, which had generated interest.
Carbios has now formed strategic partenariats with major food and beverage firms including PepsiCo, Nestlé and Suntory to help scale and develop the technology. In a statement, Carbios said that it would conduct a trial in 2021 to test the “industrial and commercial potential” of the process.
If successful, Carbios claims that the proprietory process could represent a “paradigm shift” in the way that PET is recycled, and could pave the way towards a circular economy for plastics.
Saleh Jabarin, professor at The University of Toledo, Ohio and a member of Carbios’ Scientific Committee, said: “It’s a real breakthrough in the recycling and manufacturing of PET.
“Thanks to the innovative technology developed by Carbios, the PET industry will become truly circular, which is the goal for all players in this industry, especially brand-owners, PET producers and our civilization as a whole.”
This development follows on from a similar discovery made in 2018 by scientists from the University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
These scientists accidentally engineered an enzyme which could digest plastics including PET. Professor John McGeehan at the University of Portsmouth and Dr Gregg Beckham at NREL solved the crystal structure of PETase—a recently discovered enzyme that digests PET— and used this 3D information to understand how it works. During this study, they inadvertently engineered an enzyme that is even better at degrading the plastic than the one that evolved in nature.
