Molecular up-cycling: bio-transforming waste plastic into value-added products

分子升级再造：将废塑料生物转化为增值产品

• 批准号: BB/S010629/1
• 负责人: Joanna Sadler
• 金额: $ 37.92万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FS010629%2F1
• 关键词: Molecular; up; cycling; bio; transforming

It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year and that by 2050 there could be more plastic in the seas by weight than fish. This plastic is both incredibly dangerous to marine ecosystems and also sequesters materials prepared from non-renewable fossil fuels, with just ~14% currently being recycled globally each year. It has been estimated that recycling the remaining 86% of plastics could generate up to $120bn, but new methods and processes to transform waste plastic into value-added products must be developed in order to realise this potential. The proposed research will focus on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) as a feedstock for a bio-based 'molecular up-cycling' platform to produce value-added, industrially relevant small molecules. PET accounts for 15% of plastic waste in the UK, out of which ~60% is accounted for by synthetic fibres and 30% by plastic bottles, whilst other uses include plastic wrappers and films and thermoforming for manufacturing. Although chemical and thermal methods for PET recycling are well-established, there is a dramatic loss in value throughout the plastic life-cycle, with the value of the waste PET bottles being 86% lower than the virgin polymer.This Fellowship proposal unites cutting edge research from both the chemical and biological sciences to transform waste PET into high-value small molecules. The research will address the global plastic waste disaster twofold by (i) decreasing the amount of plastic waste deposited in the environment in the future and (ii) transforming pre-existing, low-value waste products into industrially relevant, value-added products via a new 'molecular up-cycling' process. The research will be organised into two phases. Initially, a robust and efficient plastic degradation process will be developed. This will exploit PET degrading enzymes that have been isolated from microbes found in landfill sites, which have evolved to use PET as a carbon source for growth. In the second phase, the PET degradation technology will be integrated with 'microbial cell factories', which we will genetically programme to turn the degradation products of PET into industrially relevant small molecules. The initial target of the project will be the synthesis of vanillin - the primary extract from the vanilla bean and the primary molecule responsible for the characteristic smell and taste of vanilla. Vanillin is used extensively for flavours and fragrances and is also a valuable intermediate in the production of fine chemicals such as pharmaceuticals. As such, it has huge commercial value, with the global market for vanillin estimated to reach $724.5 million by 2025. Beyond this, the project also holds great potential for the production of a range of other high-value small molecules which are accessible through developing and integrating novel, bio-compatible chemical reactions with the PET degradation system. Such compounds include pharmaceuticals, fragrance/flavouring compounds, agrochemicals and polymers. As such, it is anticipated that this project will have significant academic and industrial value, as well having a positive impact on the environment by removing plastic waste from the natural environment.

据估计，每年有800万吨塑料垃圾最终进入海洋，到2050年，海洋中的塑料重量可能超过鱼类。这种塑料不仅对海洋生态系统非常危险，而且还隔离了由不可再生化石燃料制备的材料，目前全球每年仅回收约14%。据估计，回收剩余86%的塑料可产生高达1200亿美元的收入，但必须开发将废塑料转化为增值产品的新方法和工艺，以实现这一潜力。拟议的研究将集中在聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）作为生物基“分子上循环”平台的原料，以生产增值的工业相关小分子。在英国，PET占塑料废物的15%，其中约60%是合成纤维，30%是塑料瓶，而其他用途包括塑料包装和薄膜以及用于制造的热成型。虽然PET回收的化学和热方法已经很成熟，但在整个塑料生命周期中，PET瓶的价值会急剧下降，废PET瓶的价值比原始聚合物低86%。该奖学金计划结合了化学和生物科学的前沿研究，将废PET转化为高价值的小分子。该研究将从两个方面解决全球塑料废物灾难：（i）减少未来沉积在环境中的塑料废物量;（ii）通过新的“分子上循环”过程将先前存在的低价值废品转化为工业相关的增值产品。研究将分为两个阶段。最初，将开发一种稳健有效的塑料降解工艺。这将利用从垃圾填埋场发现的微生物中分离出来的PET降解酶，这些酶已经进化到使用PET作为生长的碳源。在第二阶段，PET降解技术将与“微生物细胞工厂”相结合，我们将通过基因编程将PET的降解产物转化为工业相关的小分子。该项目的最初目标是合成香草醛-香草豆的主要提取物和负责香草特征气味和味道的主要分子。香草醛广泛用于香料和香精，也是生产精细化学品（如药物）的重要中间体。因此，它具有巨大的商业价值，到2025年，全球香草醛市场估计将达到7.245亿美元。除此之外，该项目还具有生产一系列其他高价值小分子的巨大潜力，这些小分子可以通过开发和整合新型生物相容性化学反应与PET降解系统来获得。这样的化合物包括药物、芳香/调味化合物、农用化学品和聚合物。因此，预计该项目将具有重大的学术和工业价值，并通过清除自然环境中的塑料废物对环境产生积极影响。

项目成果

Microbial synthesis of vanillin from waste poly(ethylene terephthalate).

• DOI: 10.1039/d1gc00931a
• 发表时间: 2021-07-05
• 期刊: Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC
• 作者: Sadler JC;Wallace S
• 通讯作者: Wallace S

Bacteria serve up a tasty solution to the global plastic problem

细菌为全球塑料问题提供了一个美味的解决方案

• DOI: 10.1042/bio_2021_188
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: The Biochemist
• 作者: Sadler J

SynBio: Green and clean sustainable solutions for designer pharmaceuticals, catalysis, and bioremediation.

SynBio：用于设计药物、催化和生物修复的绿色清洁可持续解决方案。

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2020.11.001
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Current opinion in chemical biology
• 影响因子: 7.8
• 作者: Goss R

Overproduction of Native and Click-able Colanic Acid Slime from Engineered Escherichia coli.

• DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.2c00583
• 发表时间: 2023-02-27
• 期刊: JACS AU
• 影响因子: 8
• 作者: Sadler, Joanna C;Brewster, Richard C;Kjeldsen, Annemette;Gonzalez, Alba F;Nirkko, Jessica S;Varzandeh, Simon;Wallace, Stephen
• 通讯作者: Wallace, Stephen

Tyramine Derivatives Catalyze the Aldol Dimerization of Butyraldehyde in the Presence of Escherichia coli.

• DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200238
• 发表时间: 2022-09-05
• 期刊: Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology