Enzymatic degradation of the plastic polycarbonate

In todays presentation by Assoc. Prof. Evamaria Petersen, will talk about a greener option when it comes to plastic degradation and recycling using enzymes to save energi due to lower temperatures.

Normally the plastic polycarbonate is degrated by a temperature around 300 degrees, where with enzymes it is possible to lower the temperature to 70 degrees. 

The enzyme is a prototype since it work to slow in a large scale production, however, Eva and her team research on how to make it faster and they also work on other enzymes to make it possible to degrade other types of plastic. 

If the subject is of interest here is some reading about Eva's work:

De novo design of a polycarbonate hydrolase | Protein Engineering, Design and Selection | Oxford Academic (oup.com) 

Looking forward to have people join for around 1 hour presentation

The presentation will be in english

Refreshments:
The Chemical and Biotechnical Group at IDA North is hosting with sandwiches and beverages after the lecture, providing an opportunity to discuss more about the exciting topics we have heard. 

I dagens præsentation med Assoc. Prof. Evamaria Petersen vil vi høre om muligheden for nedbrydning af plast ved hjælp af enzymer for at spare energi på grund af lavere temperaturer. Normalt nedbrydes plasten polycarbonat ved en temperatur på omkring 300 grader, men med enzymer er det muligt at sænke temperaturen til 70 grader. Enzymet er stadig på prototypestadiet, da det arbejder for langsomt i stor skala produktion. Dog forsker Eva og hendes team i, hvordan man kan gøre det hurtigere, og de arbejder også på andre enzymer for at muliggøre nedbrydning af andre typer plast.

Forplejning:

Kemi og Bioteknisk Gruppe IDA Nord er vært med en sandwich og drikkevarer efter foredraget, hvor vi kan snakke mere om det spændende vi har hørt om 

Oplægget vil foregå på engelsk

Forskere har udviklet et enzym der kan nedbryde plastik | ugeavisen.dk