Published April 14, 2023 | Version v1
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Thermally protected enzyme for degradable on-demand polymers

Description

Thermally protected enzyme for degradable on-demand polymers

Angela Romano, Antonella Rosato, Grazia Totaro, Giulio Zanaroli, Annamaria Celli, Laura Sisti

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale e dei Materiali, Università di Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy.

Plastic accumulation in the environment has become a serious problem, and adequate end-of-life strategies must be developed. The use of polymer-degrading enzymes can be an efficient method for the management of plastic waste: indeed, new “degradable on-demand” materials could be produced, by embedding them in plastic formulation. However, efficient protection strategies for the enzymes are necessary, since the high temperatures required for most industrial plastic processes cause their denaturation and loss of activity. A new, simple and successful strategy is here proposed.

The study was carried out within the framework of the TERMINUS project, funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020 (Call: H2020-NMBP-ST-IND-2018, Grant Agreement: 814400), and it has been the topic of an oral presentation during the International conference “Bio-based polymers at the forefront of innovation in materials science”, held in Bertinoro (Italy), April 12-14, 2023.

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Additional details

Funding

TERMINUS – in-built Triggered Enzymes to Recycle Multi-layers: an INnovation for USes in plastic-packaging 814400
European Commission

References

  • Bioplastics market data. https://www.european-bioplastics.org/market/. Accessed on 03/10/2023.
  • A. Rosato, A. Romano, G. Totaro, A. Celli, F. Fava, G. Zanaroli, L. Sisti "Enzymatic degradation of the most common aliphatic bio-polyesters and evaluation of the mechanisms involved: an extended study." Polymers 2022, 14, 1850.
  • EEA European Environment Agency. "Plastics, the circular economy and Europe's environment-A priority for action. Report." 2021.