Created "mutant" enzyme capable of recycling plastic bottles in a few hours

Created

The bacterial enzyme originally found in compost can be used to make new PET bottles by degrading old ones within hours

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Recycle the plastic in few hours. A perspective that today seems less distant thanks to a new one enzyme bacterial, able to recycle PET by producing new plastic that can be reused indefinitely.





It was created by scientists at Carbios, who exploited a bacterial enzyme originally discovered in the compost of the leaves. In fact, it had reduced the bottles into chemical blocks which were then used to produce new high quality ones.

According to the creators, this is a turning point considering that most of the existing recycling technologies are able to produce plastic that is not of quality.

Billions of tons of plastic waste are polluting the planet, reaching even the most remote corners, from the Arctic to the Mariana Trench and posing a particular risk to marine life.

By harnessing the capabilities of the bacterial enzyme, Carbios has developed a technology that can recycle PET and other plastics to create recycled PET, equivalent to virgin PET.

“Carbios' recycling process, the first of its kind, initiates a true transition to a circular economy and can better prevent the plastic pollution that is damaging our oceans and the planet,” explains Carbios. "This innovative technology also paves the way for the recycling of PET fibers, another major challenge in ensuring a clean and protected environment for future generations."

How it works

Recently, details on the new enzyme were illustrated by an article published in Nature. Scientists analyzed the enzyme and introduced mutations to improve its ability to break down the plastic in which bottles are made. They also made it stable at 72 ° C. At that point, the team used the optimized enzyme to break down a ton of waste plastic bottles, which were degraded to 90% in just 10 hours. The scientists then used the material to create new plastic food bottles.


In fact, the "mutant" enzyme breaks PET down into its original blocks, which can then be used to make more high-quality plastics.


“This patented technology offers the potential to repeatedly recycle PET plastic and pave the way for 100% recycled PET content into new products. In fact, Carbios has achieved a world first by using its enzymatic technology to create PET bottles from 100% recycled plastic. This biological approach can handle all forms of PET (clear, colored, opaque and multilayer) and polyester fibers, ”explains Carbios.

Furthermore, the process requires little energy and no solvents:

“By creating a circular economy from used plastics and fibers, Carbios' advanced recycling technology offers a sustainable and responsible solution,” explains the company.

Carbios has struck a deal with biotech company Novozymes to produce the new enzyme at scale using mushrooms. In this way, the final cost will be only 4% of that of virgin petroleum-based plastics.

The technology has already been tempting giants like L'Oréal, Nestlé Waters and Pepsi who have created a consortium to speed up its launch on the market, scheduled for the next 4-5 years.


Sources of reference: Carbios, Nature

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