The enzyme can break down PET plastics (polyethylene terephthalate), a kind of plastic patented in the 1940s that is used to produce millions of tons of plastic bottles.
Scientists from the British University in Portsmouth and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the US Department of Energy are responsible for the discovery of enzymes.
Scientists have studied the structure of a natural enzyme that is believed to have evolved into a waste recycling center in Japan.
The mutant enzyme clings to PET plastic, breaks it down into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol (two environmentally benign substances) and feasts on them.
degradation with enzyme is better and faster than natural degradation
Discovering that this enzyme helps one type of bacteria to break down or 'digest' PET plastics.
Scientists decided to change it a bit, adding some amino acids, said John McGeehan, a professor at Portsmouth who was one of the researchers.
Thanks to this, the enzyme quickly degraded the plastic.
"We've created an improved version of the enzyme, better than natural," said McGeehan. "It's really exciting because it means there's the potential for further enzyme optimization."
Development is at an early stage.
"It's possible that in the coming years we will have an industrially feasible process of converting PET and possibly other plastics into their original constituent elements so that they can be recycled in a sustainable way," said McGeehan.
Independent scientists who did not participate in this study say that these results are interesting, but they also warn that the development of this enzyme as a potential solution for contamination is still at an early stage.
Enzymes are nontoxic and biodegradable by microorganisms and can be produced in large quantities
More in article published on in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences