Enzymatic degradation of plastic and optimization of microbial system for the production of its degrading enzymes

Abstract

This study outlines existing metabolic engineering techniques for bio-upcycling PET into high-value compounds, as well as a number of engineering approaches intended to improve the performance of PET-degrading enzymes. One of the most popular aromatic polyesters in the world, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has an annual demand of over 29 million metric tons in 2022 and is expected to rise by 40% by 2030. Due to the growing amount of PET waste and the existing insufficiency of recycling techniques, it has accumulated in terrestrial ecosystems, posing serious hazards to world health. These technologies seek to convert recovered PET into more valuable items in order to address energy issues as well as environmental sustainability. One potentially biosustainable technique for handling and recycling plastics is enzyme-mediated biocatalytic depolymerization. Protein engineering developments have been applied to modify and improve the many plastic-degrading enzymes that have been discovered from microbial sources. Additionally, microbial metabolic engineering makes it possible to create customized microbial chassis that can break down PET substrates and transform the resulting monomers into compounds that are useful for industry.