We bring you a lot of bad news about plastic in our water and in bodies. It’s time for a good news story that includes plastic!
A process uses E. coli to turn plastic waste into acetaminophen — or Tylenol. The process creates almost no carbon emissions and is more sustainable than the current way of making acetaminophen.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used plastic that can be recycled, but the process creates pollution. PET is the plastic used for water bottles and food packaging, and more than 350 million tons of it end up in landfills or oceans each year.
A team from the Univ. of Edinburgh genetically reprogrammed e. coli to ferment PET into the active ingredient in acetaminophen. The process of turning the plastic into the chemical took less than 24 hours. Unlike the traditional method of making acetaminophen, it was done at room temperature and without a massive amount of power.
Experts are praising how the approach blends traditional chemistry and biological engineering to make microbial factories for sustainable medication. It also reduces reliance on power, lowers waste and cuts greenhouse emissions.
The work was done at the Carbon-Loop Sustainable Biomanufacturing Hub (C-Loop). This is one of the first projects of the lab that aims to make the manufacturing of everyday products greener and more sustainable. Ninety percent of everyday products are made with processes that require fossil fuels and unsustainable chemical processes. They aim to make a “circular economy” where recycled products become completely new things.
Lead author Prof. Stephen Wallace said, “This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn’t just waste… it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease.”
“We are bringing in exceptional companies like AstraZeneca to work with Stephen and others at the university to translate these cutting-edge discoveries into world-changing innovations,” said Ian Hatch, Head of Consultancy at Edinburgh Innovations. “Engineering biology offers immense potential to disrupt our reliance on fossil fuels, build a circular economy and create sustainable chemicals and materials, and we would invite potential collaborators to get in touch.”
Right now, the process is still in the “proof-of-concept” phase. The researchers have proven it can be done in a clean, sustainable way. However, their tests thus far haven’t yielded enough acetaminophen for “industrial applications.” By working with AstraZeneca, they can hopefully make the medication and our oceans cleaner in the future!
