About 311 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually worldwide, and only 14% can be reused. And the rest is in the environment. Plastic but not deciduous. Therefore, their existence puts the existence of other organisms at risk. Especially plastic is one of the main causes of maritime pollution. Attempts to make decomposable (bio-degradable) plastics to overcome this problem, however, may not be fully resolved.
Naturally, the solution to this problem was found. Recently, scientists in Japan discovered plastic bacterial species. These bacteria are capable of breaking down polyethylene terephthalate or PET. PET is made of simple beverage bottles and snacks. Where it takes six to seven years for natural decay, the bacteria breaks its thin-film into carbon source in just six months. So today it is an environmental protection tool to be harmful plastic.
Until now, PET biological differentiation has led scientists to wonder if the ability of PET to divide is not known. The newly discovered plastic bacterium is known as 'Idiolena Chinensis'. Since the fight to degrade complex molecules is always at the forefront of various microorganisms, this discovery is no accident. In nature, many organisms emit enzymes to turn complex complexes into simple molecules. But the Adionella bacteria are so unique that they can break the chemical bonds of PET, which is not completely invaded by other bacteria. 250 types of plastic fractions were collected from poly, soil, waste, and mud at the Plastic Recycling Center in Osaka, Japan, in order to obtain Adionella.
At the end of their scrutiny, one of these uncovered microorganisms was found. The plastic is sustained by using only plastic as its sole nutrient source. This happens in two steps. At first, they emit a completely unfamiliar enzyme. This enzyme breaks down PET plastic into mono hydroxyethyl terephthalic (MHET) acid. Bacteria absorb MHET into their body. There, MHET-hydrolase produces ethylene glycine and terephthalic acid.
Interestingly, this terephthalic acid is used as the raw material for PET preparation. If these bacteria are used to obtain terephthalic acid from plastics, it is possible to save a large amount of petrol-based raw materials. Since its biosynthetic capacity is very slow, it will take more time to reach the practical level. It may be that it is made even stronger. Nor are the genes by which pirates and MHETs are hydrolyzed, and they accumulate a large amount of these enzymes by inserting them into the bacterial plasmid, sometimes through genetic engineering. But we will have to wait for more for that.
PET plastic has been in nature for only 70 years. At any stage during this period, the bacteria of the genus Adeniola originated, or if it was already there, then it is a matter of how they or plastic was interested. Scientists say that other plastics capable of biologically dividing plastic have already emerged. And we just have to find the right place in the right way.