An enzyme variant created by engineers and scientists can break down environment-throttling plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in just a matter of hours to days.

This discovery, published today in Nature, could help solve one of the world's most pressing environmental problems: what to do with the billions of tons of plastic waste piling up in landfills and polluting our natural lands and water. The enzyme has the potential to supercharge recycli...

"The possibilities are endless across industries to leverage this leading-edge recycling process," said Hal Alper, professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering at UT Austin. "Beyond the obvious waste management industry, this also provides corporations from every sector the opportu...

Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering and College of Natural Sciences used a machine learning model to generate novel mutations to a natural enzyme called PETase that allows bacteria to degrade PET plastics. The model predicts which mutations in these enzymes would accomplish the goal...

Through this process, which included studying 51 different post-consumer plastic containers, five different polyester fibers and fabrics, and water bottles all made from PET, the researchers proved the effectiveness of the enzyme, which they are calling FAST-PETase (functional, active, stable, an...

"This work really demonstrates the power of bringing together different disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering to artificial intelligence," said Andrew Ellington, professor in the Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology whose team led the development of the machine learning ...

Recycling is the most obvious way to cut down on plastic waste. But globally, less than 10% of all plastic has been recycled. The most common method for disposing of plastic, besides throwing it in a landfill, is to burn it, which is costly, energy-intensive, and spews noxious gas into the air. O...

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Up next, the team plans to work on scaling up enzyme production to prepare for industrial and environmental applications. The researchers have filed a patent application for the technology and are eying several different uses. Cleaning up landfills and greening high waste-producing industries are...

"When considering environmental cleanup applications, you need an enzyme that can work in the environment at ambient temperature. This requirement is where our tech has a huge advantage in the future," Alper said.

The project focuses on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a significant polymer found in most consumer packaging, including cookie containers, soda bottles, fruit and salad packaging, and certain fibers and textiles. It makes up 12% of all global waste.

The enzyme was able to complete a "circular process" of breaking down the plastic into smaller parts (depolymerization) and then chemically putting it back together (repolymerization). In some cases, these plastics can be fully broken down to monomers in as little as 24 hours.