Microbial Enzymes for treatment of non-recycled plastic fractions
ENZYCLE aimed to develop new enzymatic processes to treat and recycle plastic fractions that previously could not be recycled. The project brought together experts to select appropriate enzymes capable of degrading these non-recycled plastic fractions, produce the enzymes in bioreactors, and test their suitability for industrial applications.
Target materials:
- Multilayer packaging
- Post-consumer PET trays and clamshell containers
- Microplastics in waste water
ENZYCLE will valorize a large and currently hard-to-treat fraction of plastic waste!
- Decrease of non-biodegradable polymers sent to disposal or discharged to the environment
- Reduced costs of plastic recycling
- Creation of new bio-based value chain
- Creation of new markets
- Increased range of feedstocks that are able to be effectively and sustainably processed through biocatalytic systems
Research papers:
Fohler L, Leibetseder L, Cserjan-Puschmann M, Striedner G: Manufacturing of the highly active thermophile PETases PHL7 and PHL7mut3 using Escherichia coli. Microbial Cell Factories 2024, 23 (272)
Richter PK, Blazquez-Sanchez P, Zhao Z, Engelberger F, Wiebeler C, Künze G, Frank R, Krinke D, Frezzotti E, Lihanova Y, Falkenstein P, Matysik J, Zimmermann W, Sträter N, Sonnendecker C: Structure and function of the metagenomic plastic- degrading polyester hydrolase PHL7 bound to its product. Nature Communications, 2023, 14 (1905)
Frank R, Krinke D, Sonnendecker C, Zimmermann W, Jahnke HG: Real-time noninvasive analysis of biocatalytic PET degradation. ACS Catal, Dec 2021
Blog articles:
Blog article 23rd October 2020 at acib website: “Plastic recycling with enzymes”
Horizon Research and Innovation Magazine (online), 1st December 2021: “Meet nature’s plastic eaters“
Blog article 14th June 2022 at acib website: “The environmental and economic impact of enzymatic plastic recycling”.
Blog in Lab Worldwide (online), 2nd March 2023: “Top 5 Breakthrough Innovations of 2022 – Newly Discovered Enzyme Breaks Down PET Plastic in Record Time”
Podcasts:
Podcast episode on 18th August 2023 at “Die Biotexperten” with Tommaso de Santis from acib “Does it pay off? Economic calculation behind enzymatic processes”
Podcast episode on 24th February 2023 at “Die Biotexperten” with Kristie Tanner from DARWIN “Little plastic eaters – please step forward!”
Podcast episode on 11th August 2021 at “Die Biotexperten” in the frame of the European Researchers Night “Life is Science”: “Plastic recycling mit Enzymen”
Newsletters (PDF)
Partners
Advisory board
This project has received funding from the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 887913.