Scientists from the University of Edinburgh have been able to tackle plastic pollution by converting plastic into Vanillin, the primary component responsible for vanilla’s flavor.
Plastic bottles are one of the main contributors to plastic pollution since they take a very long time to decompose, ranging from 450 to 1000 years in landfills. Even after that, they do not disappear but instead break down into smaller pieces until they are microplastics. In terms of aquatic ecosystems, every year, 19 to 23 million tonnes of plastic waste pollute lakes, rivers, and seas.
To combat this, scientists from the University of Edinburgh developed a way to utilize these plastics. Researchers have already developed mutant enzymes to break down the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer used for plastic bottles into their basic components, known as terephthalic acid (TA). The team genetically engineered E. coli bacteria to transform TA into Vanillin. The scientists warmed a microbial broth to 37 degrees Celsius for a day, which was able to convert 79% of the TA into Vanillin.
Joanna Sadler of the University of Edinburgh, who conducted the work, said, “This is the first example of using a biological system to upcycle plastic waste into a valuable industrial chemical, and it has very exciting implications for the circular economy.”
Stephen Wallace, also of the University of Edinburgh, said, “Our work challenges the perception of plastic being a problematic waste and instead demonstrates its use as a new carbon resource from which high-value products can be made.”
Vanillin is commonly used in the food and cosmetics industries and is an important chemical used to make cleaning products and herbicides. With this work, the production of Vanillin will increase while also decreasing the amount of plastic waste entering landfills and ecosystems.
Ellis Crawford from the Royal Society of Chemistry said, “This is a really interesting use of microbial science to improve sustainability. Using microbes to turn waste plastics, which are harmful to the environment, into an important commodity is a beautiful demonstration of green chemistry.”
