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Valorization of Textile Waste: Enzymatic Upcycling of Terephthalic Acid Toward a Sustainable PET Value Chain
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This review summarizes new methods for using enzymes to break down plastic clothing waste (PET) into reusable chemicals, instead of just melting it down like traditional recycling. This matters because it could reduce the plastic waste and microplastic pollution created by fast fashion, offering a cleaner path to reuse materials rather than sending them to landfills or oceans.
The rapid expansion of the global textile industry, driven by the fast-fashion paradigm, which is characterized by low-cost, short-lived garments made from inexpensive synthetic fibers, has intensified environmental pressures through increased waste generation, resource depletion, microplastic pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Conventional polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling remains limited by high energy demands, harsh processing conditions, and the generation of low-value products. This review examines emerging upcycling strategies targeting PET-derived monomers, including terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol, with particular emphasis on converting TPA into high-value chemicals, functional materials, and specialty polymers. By integrating biological and materials engineering approaches, these strategies offer a transformative pathway for converting textile waste into value-added products, thereby supporting the development of a circular and sustainable PET economy. Unlike previous surveys, this work focuses on the upcycling of TPA, providing a critical evaluation of how advanced protein engineering is driving improvements in enzymatic depolymerization and bioconversion pathways toward high-value products, thereby filling a key gap in existing research, which is predominantly centered on primary recycling approaches.
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Scientists found a way to help special enzymes break down PET plastic (the material in water bottles and polyester clothing) much more efficiently by giving it a gentle pre-treatment first—like softening it up before the enzymes get to work. This matters because it could lead to better recycling methods that actually break plastic down into reusable building blocks instead of letting it pile up in landfills or break into the microplastics that end up in our water, food, and bodies.
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This review paper looks at how the fashion industry is turning plastic waste, including plastic pulled from oceans, into new textiles instead of letting it break down into microplastics. This "upcycling" approach matters because it may help reduce the amount of plastic pollution and microplastics that end up in our water, food, and eventually our bodies.
Enzymatic PET Degradation
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This review examines enzymatic degradation of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the plastic used in bottles and polyester clothing, as a promising pathway for breaking down this persistent polymer. Advances in engineering more efficient PET-degrading enzymes could enable industrial-scale biological recycling and reduce the environmental accumulation of PET microplastics.
Chemical Recycling of PET Polyester Textile Wastes Using Ag-Doped ZnO Nanoparticles: An Economical Solution for Circular Economy
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Researchers developed a chemical recycling method using silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles to break down polyester textile waste into reusable materials. Chemical recycling offers a path to recovering value from synthetic fabric waste that currently ends up in landfills or as microfiber pollution in waterways.
Recent advances in catalytic hydrogenolysis of polyester
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This review summarises a decade of research into chemically recycling polyester plastic waste (especially PET) by breaking its polymer chains using hydrogen gas — a process called hydrogenolysis — to recover valuable chemical building blocks. Different catalysts allow scientists to target different chemical bonds in PET, yielding products like aromatic hydrocarbons, glycols, or terephthalic acid under varying conditions. Developing efficient chemical recycling pathways is directly relevant to reducing plastic waste and the microplastic pollution that results from improperly disposed plastics.
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