An enzyme from bacteria. Scientists have found a new way to recycle plastic

French researchers create a mutant bacterial enzyme that breaks plastic bottles for reuse within hours.

An enzyme originally found in a compost heap turned bottles into building blocks, which were then used to make high-quality new bottles.

Researchers at the University of Toulouse and Carbios analyzed 100,000 microorganisms that showed biodegradability of plastic. The bacterial enzyme found in hardwood compost in 2012 (known as leaf-branch compost cutinase, LCC) was the best candidate.

Scientists analyzed the enzyme and introduced mutations to improve its ability to destroy the plastic PET from which the bottles for drinks are made. They also made it stable at 72 ° C, close to the ideal temperature for rapid decomposition.

The team used an optimized enzyme to break up tons of plastic bottles that were laid out 90% within 10:00. Scientists then used this material to create new food-grade plastic bottles.

Waste bottles must also be ground and heated before the enzyme is added, so recycled PET will be more expensive than primary plastic. But Martin Stefan, deputy CEO of Carbios, said the existing low-quality recycled plastic is being sold at a premium for supply shortages.

“We are the first company to introduce this technology to the market. Our goal is to begin work on a large industrial scale in 2024, 2025″, – Stefan said.

The company Carbios, which was behind the opening, said that it plans to launch the production of the enzyme on an industrial scale within five years. She collaborates with large companies, including Pepsi and L’Oréal, to accelerate the start of production.

“Intuition and chance often play a significant role in basic scientific research, and our discovery here is no exception. This unforeseen discovery suggests that there is room for further improvement of these enzymes, bringing us closer to solving the problem of utilizing an ever-growing mountain of materials”, – structural biologist John McGeehan of the University of Portsmouth in the UK said.

Ideonella sakaiensis bacteria were found by screening soil, water, and sludge samples from a plastic bottle recycling site in Sakai, Japan. These bacteria are capable of processing a thin (0.2 mm) PET film in six weeks at a temperature of 30 ° C. This indicator is very small for using bacteria in waste processing and scientists were looking for a way to improve it.

Source: nv.ua