Unlocking a Sustainable Future for Plastics: A Chemical-Enzymatic Pathway for Efficient Conversion of Mixed Waste to MHET and Energy-Saving PET Recycling.
ChemSusChem
; 17(13): e202301612, 2024 Jul 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38385577
ABSTRACT
The heterogeneous monomers obtained from plastic waste degradation are unfavorable for PET recondensation and high-value derivative synthesis. Herein, we developed an efficient chemical-enzymatic approach to convert mixed plastic wastes into homogeneous mono-2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (MHET) without downstream purification, benefiting from three discovered BHETases (KbEst, KbHyd, and BrevEst) in nature. Towards the mixed plastic waste, integrating the chemical K2CO3-driven glycolysis process with the BHETase depolymerization technique resulted in an MHET yield of up to 98.26 % in 40â
h. Remarkably, BrevEst accomplished the highest BHET hydrolysis (~87 % efficiency in 12â
h) for yielding analytical-grade MHET compared to seven state-of-the-art PET hydrolases (18 %-40 %). In an investigation combining quantum theoretical computations and experimental validations, we established a MHET-initiated PET repolymerization pathway. This shortcut approach with MHET promises to strengthen the valorization of mixed plastics, offering a substantially more efficient and energy-saving route for PET recycling.
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01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Reciclagem
Idioma:
En
Revista:
ChemSusChem
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article