Plastic-eating bacteria turn waste into useful starting materials for other products

Microbial Upcycling of Waste PET

03-Nov-2023 - Mountains of used plastic bottles get thrown away every day, but microbes could potentially tackle this problem. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science report that they’ve developed a plastic-eating E. coli that can efficiently turn polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste into adipic acid, which ...

A taste for plastic

Discovered for the first time: New deep-sea enzyme breaks down PET plastic

27-Sep-2023 - Plastic pollution is increasingly affecting the health of coasts and oceans. One well-known problem is plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. A new study involving scientists from Professor Ruth Schmitz-Streit's research group at Kiel University has shown for the first ...

How nanoplastics can influence metabolism

13-Mar-2023 - PET, the plastic used to make bottles, for example, is ubiquitous in our natural environment. In a joint study, scientists from Leipzig University and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) investigated the negative effects that tiny plastic PET particles can have on the metabolism ...

Bioplastic bottles also keep cooking oil fresh for a long time

No transfer of compounds from the bottle material into the oil detected

22-Feb-2023 - Bottles made of bioplastic protect cooking oil from oxidative spoilage (rancidity) to a similar extent as PET bottles. In addition, even less taste- and odor-impairing substances were formed. This is the result of a recent study published in the journal "Food Packaging and Shelf Life" by ...

Method efficiently breaks down plastic bottles into component parts

Researchers first to demonstrate use of metal-organic frameworks to degrade plastics

14-Apr-2022 - What if the life cycle of the plastic bottle was circular? Where a used plastic bottle was returned to its original components, ready to be made into a new plastic bottle instead of possibly ending up in a landfill. A Northwestern University research team is the first to demonstrate that a ...

Reusable plastic bottles release hundreds of chemicals

Have you ever experienced the strange taste of water after it has been in a reusable plastic bottle for a while?

15-Feb-2022 - Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have found several hundred different chemical substances in tap water stored in reusable plastic bottles. Several of these substances are potentially harmful to human health. There is a need for better regulation and manufacturing standards for ...

Adsorbent material developed with PET bottles for the removal of antibiotics from water

The porous carbon composite is applicable to various fields

27-Apr-2020 - South Korea with its high antibiotic use is categorized as a country at high risk of the emergence of multi drug-resistant bacteria, or so-called "super bacteria." According to the Ministry of Environment, antibiotic substances have been detected at livestock wastewater treatment facilities, ...

Worlds first recyclable surfoboard

01-Sep-2017 - An Imperial researcher has developed what is thought to be the world's first 3D-printed compostable and recyclable surfboard. Dr Nathaniel Petre, from the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College London, has 3D printed a surfboard that is comparably cheaper to make, more durable and ...

A method for producing plant-based drinking bottles from FDCA

04-May-2017 - VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed an environmentally sound and economical method for producing furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) from plant sugars for the production of drinking bottles, paints and industrial resins, for example. This technology enables production of plant-based ...

Making batteries from waste glass bottles

Researchers are turning glass bottles into high performance lithium-ion batteries

21-Apr-2017 - Researchers at the University of California, Riverside's Bourns College of Engineering have used waste glass bottles and a low-cost chemical process to create nanosilicon anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The batteries will extend the range of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid ...