The present invention relates to a process for degrading a plastic product comprising at least one polymer, said process comprising the steps of foaming at least partially the plastic product; and depolymerizing at least one target polymer of the at least partially foamed plastic product, wherein the step of foaming is performed at a temperature at which the plastic product is in a partially or totally molten state.

The present invention relates to a process for degrading a plastic product comprising at least one polymer, the process comprising submitting the plastic product to a spinning step to obtain fibers of said plastic product; and depolymerizing at least one polymer of said fibers.

The present disclosure provides methods and processes for the recovery of compounds (e.g., pendant groups) from polymeric materials, as well as methods for recycling and reusing such compounds by synthetically converting a recovered compound to building blocks that can be used in, e.g., curable resins for the fabrication of new devices, such as medical devices (e.g., orthodontic appliances).

The present invention relates to esterases, more particularly to esterase variants having improved activity and/or improved thermostability compared to the esterase of SEQ ID NO: 1 and the uses thereof for degrading polyester containing material, such as plastic products. The esterases of the invention are particularly suited to degrade polyethylene terephthalate, and material containing polyethylene terephthalate.

The present disclosure discloses Stenotrophomonas pavanii capable of degrading polyethylene terephthalate, belonging to the technical field of microorganisms. The present disclosure provides a S. pavanii strain JWG-G1 capable of degrading polyethylene terephthalate (PET). After a seed solution of the S. pavanii is inoculated into an inorganic salt liquid medium containing 2 g/L polyethylene terephthalate at an inoculum size of 10% (v/v) and cultured for 5 d, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) particles can be partially degraded into monohydroxyethyl terephthalate and terephthalic acid that can be directly recycled. In addition, ester bond functional groups on the surface of the polyethylene terephthalate plastic particles can be reduced, and a weight loss rate of the polyethylene terephthalate plastic particles can reach 9.4%. Therefore, the S. pavanii JWG-G1 of the present disclosure has very high application prospects in the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate.

The present invention relates to novel esterases, more particularly to esterase variants having improved activity and/or improved thermostability compared to the esterase of SEQ ID NO: 1 and the uses thereof for degrading polyester containing material, such as plastic products. The esterases of the invention are particularly suited to degrade polyethylene terephthalate, and material containing polyethylene terephthalate.

The present invention relates to esterases, more particularly to esterase variants having improved activity and/or improved themostability compared to the esterase of SEQ ID NO:1 and the uses thereof for degrading polyester containing material, such as plastic products. The esterases of the invention are particularly suited to degrade polyethylene terephthalate, and material containing polyethylene terephthalate.

A method of depolymerizing a polymer by combining together the polymer with an enzyme (a hydrolytic enzyme capable of catalyzing cleavage of said (CO)—O bond of an ester or carbonate linkage of the polymer) and an aqueous liquid to provide a reaction mixture. The polymer comprises a (CO)—O bond of an ester or carbonate linkage. The reaction mixture defines a ratio eta (η) of liquid volume, in μL, to total solids, in mg, that is less than 2 μL/mg. Then, allowing an enzyme-catalyzed reaction of the enzyme with the polymer to take place thereby forming a reaction product.

The present invention relates to a process for enzymatic depolymerization of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in particular contained in a plastic material. The process according to the invention can in particular be implemented on an industrial or semi-industrial scale.

This document relates to methods for degrading Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and remediating leachate. This document provides methods involved in contacting pretreated LDPE or plastic waste comprising LDPE with at least one white-rot fungus, achieving near 100% LDPE degradation.