NEWS|Bacteria can eliminate plastic bottles? Japanese scientists discovered

Although the convenience of plastic PET bottles containing beverages, but because they can not be decomposed in the natural state, it is often considered hazardous to nature. Recently, however, Japanese scientists have discovered a bacteria that can break down the plastic, this discovery is considered a major breakthrough.

Plastic PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) because of the high stability but also high resistance, often used to make plastic bottles, the world annually consumes more than 50 million tons, whereas PET plastic because they can not decompose in the natural environment, environmental pollution has become a headache problem.

Comprehensive foreign media reports, scientists in Kyoto, Japan A recent study found that a bacterium (Ideonella sakaiensis) can effectively decompose the PET plastic. The bacteria can use enzymes to break down the PET plastic, and produces a chemical intermediate substances, re-use other enzymes quality chemical intermediate is further decomposed to produce carbon and energy for bacterial growth.

In fact, past studies have found that foreign, some fungi can be grown through plastic, but the study found that for the first time by bacteria can break down the plastic to grow. Now the world spends out of 310 million tons of plastic, which is 1/6 of PET plastic, which is quite curious to many experts, the bacteria can become future global environment against pollution antidote.

Although this study in terms of the scientific community is quite big breakthrough, however, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) scholar Minsai (Tracy Mincer) has said, "I do not understand this discovery and our daily What is the relationship, I thought, rather than let the bacteria break down the plastic, it is better to do our own separate collection, re-use plastic to make. "

 

Information Source: http://www.pidc.org.tw/zh-tw/news/IndustryNews/Pages/20160324.aspx