Enzymatic Depolymerization of Consumer-Grade, Post-Consumer and Mixed Polyurethane Waste Using Humicola insolens Cutinase (Dataset)

The data and files contained in this dataset are related a scientific publication which evaluates the efficacy of the Humicola insolens cutinase (HiC) enzyme for the depolymerization of a wide variety of polyurethane (PU) foams, including consumer-grade items, post-consumer sponges, and mixed plastic waste streams. This dataset provides the comprehensive raw data from the study, including: weight loss measurements for PU foams, microplastics, post-consumer, and mixed-waste reactions; Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra characterizing various PU foams before and after enzymatic treatment; Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) thermograms for thermal property analysis; and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images revealing surface topology changes. Furthermore, the dataset contains Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) chromatograms for identifying soluble degradation products, as well as the raw data from cytotoxicity (human MRC-5 cells) and ecotoxicity (C. elegans) assays on both soluble products and solid microplastics. Overall, this collection of files provides the primary experimental evidence supporting the paper's findings on HiC's high efficiency (up to 52.3% weight loss) against ester-based PUs, the characterization of degradation products, and the enzyme's robustness in complex, real-world waste scenarios.