https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/sustainable-technologies-future-energy/11344

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 1. Home
 2. 2021
 3. Entries
 4. Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy
 5. Entry

Self Destructing Plastics via Embedded Enzymes

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Aaron Hall
Oakland , United States
Votes: 2
Views: 8359
Sustainable Technologies/ Future Energy
Jul 2, 2021
 
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We are solving the plastic waste problem from the inside out! If you
haven't noticed, there are literally mountains of plastic waste
building up in landfills, a Texas sized island of it in the ocean,
and microplastics are being found everywhere. Approximately 8.3B
metric tons of plastic have been produced, 6.3B metric tons have
become waste. Only a paltry 9% has been recycled. However, we need
our plastic packages, they keep our food safe and our medical
equipment sterile and are integral for so much of our modern way of
life. While recycling it all would be great, the reality is that
there isn't enough infrastructure, it's expensive to build, and the
economics of recycling aren't that attractive either. Compostable
plastics have entered the market as a solution, estimated to be a
$215B market by 2027, but these products still need rare industrial
composting to properly break down. Further, since composters need to
degrade quickly, the usable designs tend to be limited to thin bags
or cups, otherwise they hold up the line and start costing the
composters money.

Thankfully, using our technology, we can embed the enzymes that
degrade the plastics directly inside the plastics during
manufacturing. Once triggered, the plastics self-destruct, completely
degrading in days not months or years, without producing
microplastics. This process is activated with accessible conditions
like compost or simple hot water baths, is scalable, compatible with
commercially relevant thermal processing, and can be engineered to
work with a variety of plastics. Additionally, since these products
degrade from the inside out, a much wider range of thick, heavy duty,
or rigid product designs are accessible. Further, should the monomers
be recaptured they can be chemically recycled back into new plastics.
This solution to single-use plastic waste serves as a bridge to
building a more environmentally friend, sustainable circular economy.

Voting

Voting is closed!

  * ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  * Name:
    Aaron Hall
  * Type of entry:
    team
    Team members:
    Aaron Hall
    Chris DelRe
    Ivan Jayapurna
    Ting Xu
  * Profession:
    Scientist
  * Aaron is inspired by:
    The elegance of natural systems is an ever present inspiration.
    In particular the ability to build, degrade, and reuse biological
    building blocks in cells is a lesson that we bring to this work.
  * Software used for this entry:
    PyMol
  * Patent status:
    pending

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