Researchers have created a super-enzyme that can " eat " plastic in a matter of hours

British scientists have developed a form of enzyme that can break down plastic in a matter of hours. This new bacterium, modified from a micro-organism discovered by French researchers, should help reduce the pollution of the oceans and the entire planet.

Plastic is one of the most polluting materials on Earth. Even worse, it decomposes very slowly. Plastic bottles, for example, take between 100 and 1000 years to turn into organic matter, compared to 400 years for plastic bags and 1000 years for polystyrene.

Fortunately, thanks to science, it is possible to reduce this time. Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the UK have just announced that they have created a super-enzyme that can "eat" plastic in a matter of hours.

Bacteria to accelerate the decomposition of plastic

In fact, the super-enzyme was born through the modification of a microorganism discovered by French researchers in 2018. With this even newer version of the bacterium, scientists promise a more consistent reduction in plastic degradation time. According to its creators, the super-enzyme is able to devour such material six times faster than a conventional enzyme.

It should be noted that the enzyme, which was created two years earlier by Carbios, a French biological chemistry company based in Saint-Beauzire in the Auvergne region, had its limits despite its ability to degrade plastic in just 10 hours. The bacteria actually had to be spread in an environment with an ambient temperature of 70°C.

A super-enzyme for cool places

In turn, the newly created enzyme can do its work in a place that is more or less the same temperature as a room in a house. The super-enzyme came into being through the combination of two separate enzymes discovered in Japan in 2016 at a waste dump site.

"When we combined the two enzymes, rather unexpectedly, we got a dramatic increase in activity," said Professor John McGeehan of the University of Portsmouth, The Guardian reported. "This is a step towards making faster, more industrially relevant enzymes," he added.

McGeehan wants to collaborate with companies like Carbios to accelerate the deployment of the solution and contribute to the preservation of the planet. In this regard, he hopes for a commercial launch within two years. It remains to be seen whether the use of this super-enzyme will not present dangers for humans and nature.

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