Our Project: We are investigating methods to improve enzymatic PET degradation under industrially relevant conditions .
The Importance: Plastic waste is one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, with predictions that world plastic accumulation will exceed 34 billion tons by 2050 (Samak et. al 2020). This is especially concerning considering the negative effects microplastics can have on the natural environment and human health. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is used in the production of plastic water and soda bottles, making it one of the most widely used plastics in the world. While PET is one of the most widely recycled plastics, recycling is energy and resource intensive and often not economical. In recent years, the discovery of hydrolytic enzymes from microorganisms that break down PET has created a more environmentally-friendly route to recycling PET waste. Unfortunately, enzymatic recycling of plastic has not yet been commercialized due to poor reaction kinetics and low conversions of PET under industrially relevant conditions. This study investigates approaches to improve reaction conditions for PET degradation using enzymes.
Results: Possible mechanisms have been identified along with some approaches to improve enzymatic PET degradation. The research results have not yet been published so details will not be provided online.