“Scientists have engineered enzymes that can break down polyurethane, a notoriously durable plastic, into its component parts, potentially enabling efficient recycling,” reports The Doomslayer.
Ars Technica adds that plastic pollution is not a single problem, but rather “multiple problems,” because different plastics are formed out of different polymers, which have to be broken down using different methods. That
is why, even though we’ve had success finding enzymes that break down common plastics like polyesters and PET, they’re only partial solutions to plastic waste. However, researchers aren’t sitting back and basking in the triumph of partial solutions, and they now have very sophisticated protein design tools to help them out.
That’s the story behind a completely new enzyme that researchers developed to break down polyurethane, the polymer commonly used to make foam cushioning, among other things. The new enzyme is compatible with an industrial-style recycling process that breaks the polymer down into its basic building blocks, which can be used to form fresh polyurethane….
Digesting polyurethanes is challenging. Individual polymer chains are often extensively cross-linked, and the bulky structures can make it difficult for enzymes to get at the bonds they can digest. A chemical called diethylene glycol can partially break these molecules down, but only at elevated temperatures. And it leaves behind a complicated mess of chemicals that can’t be fed back into any useful reactions. Instead, it’s typically incinerated as hazardous waste.
Scientists have also discovered fungus that can eat plastics in bodies of water, without needing any other food source, reported The Independent.
In other news, a “super gut” made from a superworm’s microbiome consumes many problem plastics quickly.
Water hyacinth get rid of a lot of microplastics and heavy metal pollution.
Plastic-choked rivers are being cleared using conveyor belts in Ecuador.
A company is using microbes and air to make a meat substitute.
Methane-eating microbes are being sold to Whole Foods to make fertilizer and reduce pollution.
