Since its development, PET engineering plastics have been widely used in many fields such as food containers and electronic products. However, it is extremely difficult to degrade in nature after being discarded, thus becoming the main source of white pollution. The scientific community has been searching for effective PET biodegradation methods for a long time. A few days ago, the Tianjin Industrial Biotechnology Research Team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully analyzed the complex structure of PET hydrolase and its substrate analogs, and stated that in the future, new enzymes that "eat" PET plastics will be developed, and then through biodegradation. Methods to solve the growing problem of plastic waste pollution.
The full name of PET plastic is "polyethylene terephthalate", which is abbreviated from English Polyethylene Terephthalate. PET plastic is non-toxic, has a smooth and shiny surface, has good electrical insulation properties, is less affected by temperature, and has greater toughness among thermoplastics, so it often becomes the raw material for various types of packaging bottles.
In recent years, PET plastics have become very popular in the field of food packaging. For example, heat-resistant bottled beverages such as black tea, green tea, and fruit juices all use PET plastic outer packaging technology. However, with the mass production of PET plastic products, the problem of environmental pollution after its disposal cannot be underestimated. Recently, a team led by researcher Guo Ruiting from Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences used X-ray crystallography to analyze the high-resolution structure of a new PET hydrolase and elucidate the degradation mechanism of PET hydrolase. This research achievement will speed up the development and utilization of new enzymes for degrading PET, and is also of great significance to the industrial application of PET hydrolase.
In fact, as early as a few years ago, Japanese researchers said in the American "Science" magazine: Researchers have discovered a bacteria that can decompose PET plastic. This kind of bacteria can survive and reproduce in nature using PET plastic as a nutrient source. In the future, researchers are expected to develop biodegradation methods based on this discovery, thereby helping to solve the problem of environmental pollution caused by PET plastics after they are discarded. In addition, in 2008, a research team at University College Dublin in Ireland discovered that heating PET plastic in an oxygen-free environment can convert it into terephthalic acid and a small amount of oil and gas, while a certain Pseudomonas Bacteria have the ability to degrade terephthalic acid. If people significantly improve the transformation ability of this bacteria in the future, the white pollution problem caused by PET plastic bottles can be effectively solved.
However, the idea that people want to solve the current problem of plastic pollution by means of biodegradation will take a period of research and experimentation. In this process, the living environment of bacteria, whether the degradation process will produce secondary pollution, and the efficiency of degradation are all issues that researchers need to consider. In the future, as researchers study PET plastic more deeply, it is believed that people will achieve this goal of biodegradation of PET plastic.
