Super strong "eat" plastic enzyme can accelerate the degradation of beverage bottles

[China Packaging News] According to the British "Independent News" reported on the 16th , British scientists based on an enzyme ( biocatalyst ) , created a substance that can "eat" plastic. The new substances can help the recycling and reuse of plastics and help solve the plastic pollution problems currently facing the world.

This enzyme is produced by bacteria living in a recycling center in Japan. In 2016 , Japanese researchers discovered this plastic-eating bacteria. At the time, experts and commentators stated that this was a potential solution to plastic pollution.

In the latest research, Professor John McGeehan , a biologist at the University of Portsmouth , led the team to make some fine-tuning of the structure of this enzyme related to the digestion of plastic, creating the " super strong " " Version, its ability to " digest " plastics far exceeds the substances found in nature. The researchers named it "PETase" because it can decompose the PET plastic used to make beverage bottles and accelerate the degradation process of these plastics (which usually takes hundreds of years ) . They say that by breaking down plastic into manageable lumps, the new substance can help recycle millions of tons of plastic bottles.

Professor Niley Saha, a chemical engineer at Imperial College London , did not participate in this work. He said: " This enzyme is very useful for the recycling and reuse of plastics. "

Although the discovery was warmly welcomed by scientists, the researchers also pointed out that there is a long way to go before these enzymes are widely used in the recycling industry. Professor Douglas Kell , a bioanalytical scientist at the University of Manchester, said: " Petroleum-derived plastics and polymers are resistant to degradation, and their accumulation in the environment is a disturbing problem. The evolution of enzymes that degrade these plastics is of paramount importance The weight. "

The latest research was published in the "Journal of the National Academy of Sciences" in the United States.