Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Closing the loop for poly(butylene-adipate-co-terephthalate) recycling: depolymerization, monomers separation, and upcycling

Ismail, Mohamed LU orcid ; Abouhmad, Adel LU ; Warlin, Niklas LU ; Pyo, Sang-Hyun LU ; Englund Örn, Oliver LU ; Al-Rudainy, Basel LU orcid ; Tullberg, Cecilia LU orcid ; Zhang, Baozhong LU and Hatti-Kaul, Rajni LU (2024) In Green Chemistry 26(7). p.3863-3873
Abstract
Efficient recycling and upcycling strategies to retain the material in
the economy and away from the ecosystems are important to achieve a
sustainable plastic system. Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)
(PBAT) is a biodegradable polyester that has gained considerable
interest for various applications. Here, we report a study on enzymatic
depolymerization of PBAT, recovery and purification of its monomers, and
feasible routes for their recycling/upcycling. PBAT films (15 g L−1)
were completely hydrolysed employing a leaf-branch compost cutinase
variant (LCC-WCCG, 1.4 mg per gram polymer) to its monomers at a rate of
0.49 g L−1 h−1. LCC-WCCG kinetics... (More)
Efficient recycling and upcycling strategies to retain the material in
the economy and away from the ecosystems are important to achieve a
sustainable plastic system. Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)
(PBAT) is a biodegradable polyester that has gained considerable
interest for various applications. Here, we report a study on enzymatic
depolymerization of PBAT, recovery and purification of its monomers, and
feasible routes for their recycling/upcycling. PBAT films (15 g L−1)
were completely hydrolysed employing a leaf-branch compost cutinase
variant (LCC-WCCG, 1.4 mg per gram polymer) to its monomers at a rate of
0.49 g L−1 h−1. LCC-WCCG kinetics were superior to that of other enzymes engineered for PBAT hydrolysis; the data were supported by in silico
investigations. The released monomers were separated using membrane
filtration and precipitation techniques and recovered with purity
exceeding 95%. To close the loop, the monomers were re-polymerized and
successfully cast into PBAT films. Moreover, adipic acid was reacted
with hexamethylene diamine using Novozym®435 to form a polyamide, while
1,4-butanediol was oxidized to 4-hydroxybutyrate using Gluconobacter oxydans cells. The current study exemplifies a high-impact scientific approach toward a circular plastics economy. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Green Chemistry
volume
26
issue
7
pages
11 pages
publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186408447
ISSN
1463-9270
DOI
10.1039/D3GC04728H
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f3de523d-5de9-4dd1-accf-3d58f00a9557
date added to LUP
2024-03-14 10:42:25
date last changed
2025-10-14 11:04:03
@article{f3de523d-5de9-4dd1-accf-3d58f00a9557,
  abstract     = {{Efficient recycling and upcycling strategies to retain the material in <br>
the economy and away from the ecosystems are important to achieve a <br>
sustainable plastic system. Poly(butylene adipate-<em>co</em>-terephthalate)<br>
 (PBAT) is a biodegradable polyester that has gained considerable <br>
interest for various applications. Here, we report a study on enzymatic <br>
depolymerization of PBAT, recovery and purification of its monomers, and<br>
 feasible routes for their recycling/upcycling. PBAT films (15 g L<sup>−1</sup>)<br>
 were completely hydrolysed employing a leaf-branch compost cutinase <br>
variant (LCC-WCCG, 1.4 mg per gram polymer) to its monomers at a rate of<br>
 0.49 g L<sup>−1</sup> h<sup>−1</sup>. LCC-WCCG kinetics were superior to that of other enzymes engineered for PBAT hydrolysis; the data were supported by <em>in silico</em><br>
 investigations. The released monomers were separated using membrane <br>
filtration and precipitation techniques and recovered with purity <br>
exceeding 95%. To close the loop, the monomers were re-polymerized and <br>
successfully cast into PBAT films. Moreover, adipic acid was reacted <br>
with hexamethylene diamine using Novozym®435 to form a polyamide, while <br>
1,4-butanediol was oxidized to 4-hydroxybutyrate using <em>Gluconobacter oxydans</em> cells. The current study exemplifies a high-impact scientific approach toward a circular plastics economy.}},
  author       = {{Ismail, Mohamed and Abouhmad, Adel and Warlin, Niklas and Pyo, Sang-Hyun and Englund Örn, Oliver and Al-Rudainy, Basel and Tullberg, Cecilia and Zhang, Baozhong and Hatti-Kaul, Rajni}},
  issn         = {{1463-9270}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{7}},
  pages        = {{3863--3873}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society of Chemistry}},
  series       = {{Green Chemistry}},
  title        = {{Closing the loop for poly(butylene-adipate-<i>co</i>-terephthalate) recycling: depolymerization, monomers separation, and upcycling}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D3GC04728H}},
  doi          = {{10.1039/D3GC04728H}},
  volume       = {{26}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}