According to a report by the UK’s Independent newspaper on the 16th, British scientists have created a substance that can 'eat' plastics based on an enzyme. New substances help the recycling and reuse of plastics and help solve the global pollution problems currently facing plastics. .
The enzyme was produced by bacteria living in a recycling center in Japan. In 2016, Japanese researchers discovered the bacteria that used plastic. At that time, experts and commentators said that this was a potential solution to plastic pollution.
In the latest study, Professor John McGeehan, a biologist at the University of Portsmouth, led the team to fine-tune some of the structure of the enzyme involved in digesting plastics, creating the 'super strong' of this enzyme. 'Version, its ability to 'digest' plastics is far beyond what is found in nature. The researchers named it 'PETase' because it can decompose PET plastics used in making beverage bottles, accelerating the degradation process of these plastics (usually It takes hundreds of years. They say that by breaking down the plastic into manageable blocks, new substances can help recycle millions of tons of plastic bottles.
Professor Niray Saha, a chemical engineer at Imperial College London, did not participate in this work. He said: 'This enzyme is very useful for the recycling and reuse of plastics.'
Although the discovery was warmly welcomed by scientists, the researchers also pointed out that there is still a long way to go before these enzymes are widely used in the recycling industry. Professor Douglas Kell, a bioanalytical scientist at the University of Manchester, said: 'Oil derived Plastics and polymers are resistant to degradation, and their accumulation in the environment is a troubling problem, and the constant evolution of enzymes that degrade these plastics is a top priority.
The latest research was published in the "Journal of the National Academy of Sciences".