Bacteria Converts Degraded Plastic Bottles Into Vanilla Flavoring
upstart writes:
Bacteria converts degraded plastic bottles into vanilla flavoring:
Developing forms of plastic that don't take centuries to break down after use is a common objective among eco-conscious material scientists, and lately we're seeing how bacteria might offer a helping hand. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have taken this idea one step further, by demonstrating how an engineered form of E. coli bacteria can be used to turn plastic bottles into vanillin, the primary compound of vanilla flavoring.
[...] While PET can be converted into its original building blocks that are used to produce more PET plastics through current recycling methods, the authors of the new study sought to turn it into something else entirely. They developed a technique that uses an engineered form of E. coli bacteria to take aim at a PET waste product called terephthalic acid (TA). With fine-tuning of the chemical reactions, the bacteria was added to degraded PET plastic bottles and was able to convert 79 percent of the TA to vanillin.
[...] While vanillin is the main chemical component of extracted vanilla beans, it has wide-ranging applications beyond just the food industry, also serving as an ingredient in herbicides, cosmetics, cleaning products and anti-foaming agents. So, if the scientists can demonstrate how their technique can be scaled up, it could offer a new source for a product the world uses tens of thousands of tonnes of each year.
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