Zhou Jie, Su Haijia, Wu Qiong, Xing Jianmin, Dong Weiliang, Jiang Min
State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China.
College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao. 2021 Oct 25;37(10):3414-3424. doi: 10.13345/j.cjb.210398.
With the transformation and revolution of the global plastics recycling system, recycling and upcycling of mixed plastics waste not only reduces the carbon emissions of plastics during its life cycle, but also addresses its potential ecological and environmental hazards. This article summarizes an international cooperation project, "MIXed plastics biodegradation and UPcycling using microbial communities" (MIX-UP) which was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the European Union (NSFC-EU) in 2019. The consortium of MIX-UP consists of 14 partners from European Union and China. Focusing on the global issue of "plastics pollution", this Sino-European MIX-UP project took the mixed waste of petroleum-based plastics (PP, PE, PUR, PET and PS) and bio-based plastics (PLA and PHA) as starting materials for biotechnological conversion into value-added, sustainable biomaterials. MIX-UP has three subprojects: 1) identification of plastics biodegradation pathway and design & engineering of key degrading elements, 2) construction and functional regulation of microbial consortia/enzyme cocktails with high-efficiency for degradation of plastics mixtures, 3) strategy of design and utilization of plastics degradation products for production of high value materials. Through NSFC-EU complementary and cross-disciplinary cooperation, MIX-UP proposes the engineering of a new-to-nature biological route for upcycling, a low carbon and sustainable bio-treatment that is different from the traditional physico-chemical treatment, which will empower the recycling industry to a new dimension. The implementation of the project will not only help to promote innovation and development in the field of biotechnology in China, but also contribute to the achievement of China's carbon neutral goal.
随着全球塑料回收系统的变革与革命，混合塑料废弃物的回收和升级回收不仅减少了塑料在其生命周期中的碳排放，还解决了其潜在的生态和环境危害。本文总结了一个国际合作项目，即“利用微生物群落对混合塑料进行生物降解和升级回收”（MIX-UP），该项目于2019年由中国国家自然科学基金和欧盟（NSFC-EU）资助。MIX-UP联盟由来自欧盟和中国的14个合作伙伴组成。聚焦于“塑料污染”这一全球问题，这个中欧MIX-UP项目以石油基塑料（PP、PE、PUR、PET和PS）和生物基塑料（PLA和PHA）的混合废弃物为起始原料，通过生物技术转化为增值的可持续生物材料。MIX-UP有三个子项目：1）确定塑料生物降解途径并设计和构建关键降解元件，2）构建和功能调控高效降解塑料混合物的微生物群落/酶混合物，3）设计和利用塑料降解产物生产高价值材料的策略。通过NSFC-EU的互补和跨学科合作，MIX-UP提出了一种全新的、自然的升级回收生物途径工程，这是一种不同于传统物理化学处理的低碳且可持续的生物处理方法，它将把回收行业提升到一个新的维度。该项目的实施不仅有助于推动中国生物技术领域的创新与发展，还将为实现中国的碳中和目标做出贡献。
