Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, using artificial intelligence, developed a synthetic enzyme that breaks down plastic waste in 24 hours.
This could solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems: https://t.co/nGlPhu5xTJ @CockrellSchool
— UT Austin (@UTAustin) May 2, 2022
Researchers studied the natural structure of the PETase enzyme and trained a model to generate its mutations that work quickly at low temperatures.
“When evaluating approaches to waste disposal, an enzyme that can operate under ambient environmental conditions is needed,” said co-author Hal Alper.
The algorithm ultimately yielded an enzyme named FAST-PETase, capable of breaking down plastic in 24 hours at temperatures from 30 to 50 degrees Celsius.
According to the scientists, production and use of the enzyme could be scaled to industrial levels, providing an affordable route for recycling plastic waste. They added that the biological approach uses less energy and is more environmentally friendly than current large-scale polyethylene recycling methods.
“This work truly demonstrates the power of bringing together various disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering and artificial intelligence,” said Andrew Ellington, professor of synthetic biology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Earlier in January, American researchers reported the development of an algorithm, forecasting floods in the Gulf of Mexico.
In October 2021, researchers from the University of Bristol visited the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant to train robots to interact with radioactive waste.
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