Research breakthrough: scientists find plastic recycling key in pile of rotten leaves

Researchers at French industrial company Carbios have created a bacterial enzyme that can dissolve plastic bottles in a matter of hours. Air force.

Photo: shutterstock

For the first time this enzyme in its natural form was discovered in a heap of decayed leaves back in 2012, on the basis of it, scientists and developed a new substance.

“Everyone completely forgot about that find, but it turned out to be the best in this field,” Alain Marty, head of the scientific department of Carbios, a professor at the University of Toulouse, said in an interview with the British newspaper Guardian.

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Industrial giants such as Pepsi and L'Oreal have volunteered to help Carbios develop the new technology.

A detailed description of the research results was published Thursday in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

How it works

The discovery of French scientists may be an important stage in the processing of certain types of plastic, in particular PET bottles made on the basis of polyethylene of different densities. Most PET bottles and containers are specifically the PET category.

The enzyme is able to split the plastic of such bottles into materials that can subsequently be used to make new bottles.

With current technology, the end product of PET processing is not high enough to make new bottles. Usually he is allowed to manufacture clothes and carpets.

The new enzyme is capable of cleaving up to 90% of polymers in just 10 hours, and this, according to scientists, is the most effective and optimal enzyme for PET of all known at the moment.

"A real breakthrough"

The cost of producing a new enzyme on an industrial scale will be low compared to many other processes, scientists say. For example, the production of plastic from oil will cost 25 times more expensive.

“This is a real breakthrough in the production and processing of PET,” says Saleh Jabarin, a professor at the University of Toledo in Ohio and a member of the scientific council of Carbios.

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Researchers hope to get accurate answers regarding the industrial and commercial potential of the enzyme in 2021, after all tests have been completed.

“Our goal is to turn the discovery into large-scale production by 2024-25,” says Carbios deputy chief executive Martin Stephan.

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