Back in 2018, scientists in Japan made the key discovery of a bacterium with a natural appetite for PET plastics. This raised the prospect of a low-cost solution to some of the most common forms of ...

The crystal structure of PET46 resembles the crystal structure of the IsPETase and LCC - with unique features. Credit: Communications Chemistry (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s42004-023-00998-z Plastic ...

A team of researchers in the United States and United Kingdom looking into a natural enzyme that could break down PET says it has uncovered ways to generate even bigger improvements. By combining two ...

The rigidity, transparency and hardness of PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) make it one of the most valuable plastics for the manufacture of plastic bottles, packaging and other single-use products.

More than 60 million metric tons of PET are produced each year, much of which is not recycled. The most common recycling technique, a thermomechanical process, produces material with mechanical ...

Over the past five years or so we've seen some important breakthroughs demonstrating how enzymes can be used to break down common plastics, such as the PET used for everything from drink bottles to ...

Scientists who helped to pioneer the use of enzymes to eat plastic have taken an important next step in developing nature-based solutions to the global plastics crisis. They have characterized an ...

(Nanowerk News) An enzyme variant created by engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin can break down environment-throttling plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in ...

Plastic waste is a big problem in the environment. About 300 million tons is produced every year, according to the United Nations. Much of that is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), used to make single ...