You know the big dumps that exist in cities. Here is our planet, about to turn into one of those big garbage dumps. Plastic pollution has reached alarming proportions, especially in recent years, and this has prompted experts.
Scientists are mobilized to find ways to reduce plastic pollution before it causes long-term permanent damage to the environment. According to a new study, it may be possible with a special enzyme to prevent plastic pollution from getting worse than it is now.
The process of breaking down plastic in nature, which normally takes centuries, can be carried out in 24 hours
can be real with the use of the enzyme variant. This enzyme can even be used to clean areas contaminated with plastic pollution.
In the tests carried out within the scope of the research, it was observed that thanks to the mentioned enzyme, it is possible to decompose products made from polymer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) within a week, and in some cases even within 24 hours. Considering that this process can take centuries under natural conditions, this means that the process of decomposition of plastic in nature will accelerate incredibly.
“The possibilities are endless across industries to take advantage of this pioneering recycling process,” said Hal Alper, a chemical engineer from the University of Texas, “Beyond the open waste management industry, this is also helping companies from all industries to recycle their products.
Enzyme-degraded plastics can be recycled later
The team found a natural PETase’ that allows bacteria to break down PET plastic. They call their new enzyme variant ‘FAST-PETase’ (functional, active, stable and tolerant PETase).
The new enzyme variant makes plastic known as depolymerization basic mo After successfully separating them into their molecular units, the researchers report that they have observed that they can recombine plastic (repolymerization), this time using chemical processes to create new plastic products.
Finding FAST-PETase involved 51 different studies of used plastic container, fabric made from five different polyester fibers and PET, and water bottles. In tests on all these products, the effect of the enzyme variant on plastics was proven at temperatures below 50 degrees Celsius. Stating that there is a need for an enzyme that can be active at ambient temperature when environmental cleaning applications are taken into account, Alper said, “This requirement is what our technology has a great advantage in the future.” saves as.
PET alone accounts for 12 percent of global waste
PET forms the basis of many consumer packaging, from textiles to water bottles, and PET alone It is thought to cause about 12 percent of all global waste. Considering that less than 10 percent of all plastics are recycled globally, it is much better understood how dire this figure is.
But the release of FAST-PETase looks like it could put a ‘stop’ to this problem. Researchers on this subject, the enzyme in question is relatively cheap and portable; he underlines that scaling this to industrial levels that may be necessary is not very difficult.
Currently, one of the most common methods used to destroy plastic is to throw the waste into a landfill where it will decompose very slowly or incineration, which is quite costly and consumes a lot of energy and fills the atmosphere with toxic gas. In other words, the need for new, alternative solutions to break up plastic has never been more acute than it is today, and FAST-PETase represents a potential solution to this problem.
says biochemist Andrew Ellington of the University of Texas, “This work really demonstrates the power of bringing together different disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering to artificial intelligence.”
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