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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Enzymatic remediation of polyester microfibers in sewage sludge and green compost samples
ClearHydrolase and plastic-degrading microbiota explain degradation of polyethylene terephthalate microplastics during high-temperature composting
Researchers tested a PET-degrading enzyme (WCCG) in high-temperature composting and found that adding the enzyme achieved 35% PET degradation, while native plastic-degrading microbiota alone (including Acinetobacter and Bacillus) reduced PET by 26%, suggesting both enzymatic and microbial approaches can address PET microplastic pollution.
Enzymatic Degradation of PET plastic
This study tested commercial-grade enzymes for degrading PET plastic and found that enzymatic degradation was effective at laboratory scale but faced challenges for real-world application. Scaling up enzymatic PET recycling could reduce the persistence of plastic waste that eventually fragments into microplastics in the environment.
Composting-based degradation of poly (ethylene terephthalate) microplastics and its enhancement with exogenous PET hydrolase supplementation
Researchers tested whether PET microplastic degradation could be enhanced during high-temperature composting by adding exogenous thermophilic PET hydrolase enzyme, finding that after 20 days, PET weight was reduced by 21.1% without enzyme and 32.8% with enzyme addition. Enzyme-enhanced composting offers a promising approach for degrading PET microplastics in solid waste treatment.
Efficient Depolymerization and Low-Toxicity Leaching of Polyester Microplastics through Alkali-Hydrothermal Treatment of Sewage Sludge
Researchers developed an alkali-hydrothermal treatment method that degraded 82% of PET microplastics trapped in sewage sludge, converting them into low-toxicity dissolved organic matter. The approach works by leveraging alkalinity, metal ions, and organic matter naturally present in sludge to break down plastic through hydrolysis and radical oxidation, offering a practical strategy for reducing microplastic contamination before sludge is applied to agricultural land.
Thermal Embedding of Humicola insolens Cutinase: A Strategy for Improving Polyester Biodegradation in Seawater
Researchers embedded a commercially available enzyme into biodegradable polyester films to accelerate their breakdown in seawater. The study found that these enzyme-embedded films achieved biodegradability equal to or greater than cellulose standards in natural seawater, while maintaining their original physical properties. This approach suggests a practical strategy for reducing the contribution of slow-degrading biodegradable plastics to marine microplastic pollution.
Biochar immobilized hydrolase degrades PET microplastics and alleviates the disturbance of soil microbial function via modulating nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
Researchers developed a new tool using biochar combined with a plastic-eating enzyme to break down PET microplastics in soil. The approach achieved nearly 30% weight loss of PET particles and helped restore healthy nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the soil by shifting microbial communities, offering a promising strategy for addressing microplastic contamination in agricultural land.
Microbial enzymes for the recycling of recalcitrant petroleum‐based plastics: how far are we?
This review examines the progress in identifying microbial enzymes capable of breaking down petroleum-based plastics like polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, and PET. Researchers highlight recent advances in using polyester-degrading enzymes to recover raw materials from PET waste through biocatalytic recycling. The study discusses the potential and remaining challenges of using biological approaches to address the growing global problem of plastic waste accumulation.
PETase Engineering for Enhanced Degradation of Microplastic Fibers in Simulated Wastewater Sludge Processing Conditions
Scientists engineered a mutant version of PETase — an enzyme that breaks down polyester plastic — specifically optimized to work in the chemically complex conditions of sewage sludge rather than in clean lab buffers. The engineered enzyme showed up to 17-fold greater activity under sludge-like conditions compared to the original enzyme. This is significant because wastewater treatment plants are a major conduit for microplastics entering the environment, and an enzyme that can degrade plastic fibers within the treatment system itself could be a powerful intervention point.
Enzymatic PET Degradation
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.
The Current State of Research on PET Hydrolyzing Enzymes Available for Biorecycling
This review summarizes the current state of PET-hydrolyzing enzymes, including thermophilic cutinases and engineered variants, that are candidates for enzymatic biorecycling of PET plastic waste back into reusable monomers.
Marine PET Hydrolase (PET2): Assessment of Terephthalate- and Indole-Based Polyesters Depolymerization
Researchers characterized a marine enzyme (PET2) capable of breaking down PET plastic and related polyester materials under relatively mild conditions. Discovering and engineering enzymes that can degrade PET could help address the massive accumulation of PET microplastics in ocean environments.
Hydrolytic Degradation of Polyethylene Terephthalate by Cutinase Enzyme Derived from Fungal Biomass–Molecular Characterization
Researchers isolated cutinase and lipase enzymes from Aspergillus tamarii and Penicillium crustosum fungi and demonstrated their ability to catalyze hydrolytic degradation of PET plastic, offering a potential biological route for plastic waste breakdown.
Impact of Enzymatic Degradation on the Material Properties of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)
This study tested whether a plastic-degrading enzyme (PETase) could break down recycled PET plastic and whether the degradation changed its material properties in ways that could affect fragmentation into microplastics. Enzyme treatment caused visible surface degradation and reduced the plastic's strength. Understanding how biological degradation alters plastic properties helps predict how PET breaks down into microplastics in the environment.
Plastic biodegradation: Frontline microbes and their enzymes
Researchers reviewed microbial biodegradation of synthetic plastics — including PE, PP, PS, and PET — cataloguing the insects, bacteria, and fungi capable of breaking down these polymers along with the enzymatic mechanisms involved, and outlining paths forward including metabolic pathway engineering and molecular cloning to improve degradation rates.
Biodegradation of Microplastic: A Sustainable Approach
This review examines biological approaches to microplastic degradation, covering microorganisms and enzymes capable of breaking down common plastic polymers such as PET and polyethylene. Biodegradation could offer a sustainable path to reducing microplastic accumulation in soil, water, and marine environments.
Enzymes for microplastic-free agricultural soils
This review highlights the potential of hydrolase enzymes to depolymerize polyester-based plastics as a bioremediation strategy for agricultural soils contaminated with microplastics from mulch films and biofertilizers, while emphasizing the need for ecotoxicological assessment.
Discovery and Biochemical Characterization of a Novel Polyesterase for the Degradation of Synthetic Plastics
Researchers used bioinformatics to discover a new enzyme from soil bacteria capable of breaking down synthetic plastics like PET and polyurethane. The enzyme was successfully expressed and characterized in the lab, offering a promising lead for developing biological plastic recycling approaches.
Microplastics in sewage sludge destined to anaerobic digestion: The potential role of thermal pretreatment
Researchers found that thermal pretreatment of sewage sludge at 120°C did not degrade conventional PET microplastics but did alter biodegradable microplastics, which also boosted methane production during anaerobic digestion, raising concerns about how different microplastic types behave in sludge treatment.
Microbial and Enzymatic Degradation of Plastic Waste in Water
This review surveys microbial and enzymatic pathways for degrading plastic waste in water, cataloging enzymes such as PETases and cutinases along with the microorganisms that produce them. The authors assess current limitations of biological degradation rates and discuss how enzyme engineering and synthetic microbial consortia could accelerate plastic breakdown.
The Role and Application of Microbial Enzymes in Microplastics’ Bioremediation: Available and Future Perspectives
This chapter reviews how microbial enzymes — including PETases, laccases, and cutinases — can break down microplastic polymers in soil and aquatic environments, and how advances in metagenomics and enzyme engineering are accelerating discovery of new plastic-degrading candidates. While promising, the authors note that no enzyme-based solution is yet scalable enough to meaningfully reduce the microplastic burden already present in the environment.