Scientists unveil enzyme tech that reduces plastic recycling’s footprint by up to 99%

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Plastic’s toughest problem may have just met its smartest solution. A team of scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the University of Portsmouth in England has unveiled a game-changing enzymatic recycling process of breaking down PET, the world’s most widely used plastic.

For the first time, breaking down used PET into its building blocks is not only cleaner than making new plastic from oil, it’s also cheaper and has a lower carbon footprint. Led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for Enzyme Innovation, the research introduces a subtle but pivotal chemical switch by replacing sodium hydroxide with ammonium hydroxide.

The new process tackles long-standing hurdles in enzymatic recycling. While mechanical recycling is energy-efficient, it can’t handle much of the PET waste stream, such as coloured plastics, thermoforms, and textile fibres. Enzymatic recycling can break PET down to its core chemical components, but until now, high costs and environmental drawbacks have held it back.

Source: Interesting Engineering

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