As of 2022, the world has produced approximately 6.5 billion tons of plastic, of which only 9% has been recycled and 12% has been incinerated or buried.
The huge amount of remaining plastic waste is difficult to recycle and does not degrade. It gradually enters the land and marine ecological environment. While polluting the land and water bodies, it also poses a serious threat to the health of living things, including humans.
One promising way to solve the problem of plastic pollution is to develop biodegradable plastics. It is reported that a research team from Xinjiang Kangrunjie has designed an enzyme-activated compostable degradable plastic. This research has obtained a national invention patent.
The design idea of this biodegradable plastic is to use a four-molecule random copolymer (PHL) to place protease and lipase into traditional biodegradable structures using nanodispersion technology, such as polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(lactic acid). caprolactone (PCL).
This design allows the enzyme to retain activity outside the environment without changing the original physical properties of the degraded plastic. In experiments, only high temperatures and a small amount of water were needed to activate the enzymes, thereby starting the plastic degradation process.
This enzyme grabs the ends of plastic molecular chains and cuts off the links one by one, just like eating noodles. In this way, the decomposition speed of plastic has been greatly improved, and it can be completely degraded in just a few weeks.
At the same time, because every link is interrupted, the plastic decomposition rate is as high as 98%, thus completely curbing the generation of microplastics.
The research team has applied for a patent for this new degradable plastic and invested in the largest polylactic acid industrial park in western China to further develop the technology, which is now in use.
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