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Revisiting the activity of two poly(vinyl chloride)- and polyethylene-degrading enzymes

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [1]
  1. NMBU - Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås (Norway)
  2. University of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
  3. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
  4. Norner Research AS, Porsgrunn (Norway)
  5. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); BBOTTLE Consortium, Golden, CO (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Biocatalytic degradation of non-hydrolyzable plastics is a rapidly growing field of research, driven by the global accumulation of waste. Enzymes capable of cleaving the carbon-carbon bonds in synthetic polymers are highly sought-after as they may provide tools for environmentally friendly plastic recycling. Despite some reports of oxidative enzymes acting on non-hydrolyzable plastics, including polyethylene or poly(vinyl chloride), the notion that these materials are susceptible to efficient enzymatic degradation remains controversial, partly driven by a general lack of studies independently reproducing previous observations. Here, we attempt to replicate two recent studies reporting that deconstruction of polyethylene and poly(vinyl chloride) can be achieved using an insect hexamerin from Galleria mellonella (so-called “Ceres”) or a bacterial catalase-peroxidase from Klebsiella sp., respectively. Reproducing previously described experiments, we do not observe any activity on plastics using multiple reaction conditions and multiple substrate types. Digging deeper into the discrepancies between the previous data and our observations, we show how and why the original experimental results may have been misinterpreted.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); University of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Research Council of Norway; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Biological Systems Science (BSS)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308; SC0022018; SC0023085
Other Award/Contract Number:
326975
OSTI ID:
2999543
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2472817
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA--2A00-89473
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLCCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Biocatalysis
Bioremediation
Environmental biotechnology
Enzymes
biocatalytic degradation
carbon-carbon bonds in synthetic polymers
enzymatic deconstruction of polyethylene