Jun 3, 2024
Scientists Claim New Enzyme Can Break Down Plastic in a Single Week
Posted by Shailesh Prasad in category: robotics/AI
Scientists used machine learning to discover what they say could be a new way to speed up the process of breaking down plastic significantly, Vice reports.
As detailed in a new paper published in the journal Nature, a research team from the University of Texas at Austin modified an enzyme to break down the individual components of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a commonly used plastic that makes up a staggering 12 percent of global waste.
Impressively, the modified enzyme also reduced the amount of time it takes for the plastic to degrade from months to a just single week.