Amalia Lita, Chang Chia-Yu, Wang Steven S-S, Yeh Yi-Chun, Tsai Shen-Long
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2024 Feb;85:103053. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2023.103053. Epub 2023 Dec 20.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is favored for its exceptional properties and widespread daily use. This review highlights recent advancements that enable the development of biological tools for PET decomposition, transforming PET into valuable platform chemicals and materials in upcycling processes. Enhancing PET hydrolases' catalytic activity and efficiency through protein engineering strategies is a priority, facilitating more effective PET waste management. Efforts to create novel PET hydrolases for large-scale PET depolymerization continue, but cost-effectiveness remains challenging. Hydrolyzed monomers must add additional value to make PET recycling economically attractive. Valorization of hydrolysis products through the upcycling process is expected to produce new compounds with different values and qualities from the initial polymer, making the decomposed monomers more appealing. Advances in synthetic biology and enzyme engineering hold promise for PET upcycling. While biological depolymerization offers environmental benefits, further research is needed to make PET upcycling sustainable and economically feasible.
聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）因其卓越的性能和广泛的日常应用而备受青睐。本综述重点介绍了近期的进展，这些进展推动了用于PET分解的生物工具的开发，从而在升级回收过程中将PET转化为有价值的平台化学品和材料。通过蛋白质工程策略提高PET水解酶的催化活性和效率是当务之急，这有助于更有效地管理PET废物。为大规模PET解聚创造新型PET水解酶的工作仍在继续，但成本效益仍然具有挑战性。水解单体必须增加额外价值，以使PET回收在经济上具有吸引力。通过升级回收过程对水解产物进行增值有望产生具有与初始聚合物不同价值和质量的新化合物，从而使分解后的单体更具吸引力。合成生物学和酶工程的进展为PET升级回收带来了希望。虽然生物解聚具有环境效益，但仍需要进一步研究以使PET升级回收具有可持续性和经济可行性。
