Enzymatic depolymerization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has received considerable attention for closed-loop polyester recycling. However, current approaches for enzymatic PET recycling face challenges to achieve commercial viability with lower environmental impacts compared with virgin polyester manufacturing. Here we present multiple process innovations for enzymatic PET recycling that enable economic and environmental feasibility. We show that substrate amorphization through extrusion and quenching is energy-efficient and enables near-quantitative enzymatic conversion in 50 h. Using ammonium hydroxide for pH control and thermolysis of the isolated diammonium terephthalate salt reduces the acid and base consumption by >99%, lowering annual operating expenses by 74%. Fed-batch processing increased ethylene glycol concentration, leading to a 65% reduction in energy consumption for ethylene glycol recovery. These improvements were modeled in an optimal process, with recycled PET estimated to be US$1.51 kg−1 relative to US domestic virgin PET at US$1.87 kg−1 and eliminating key life cycle obstacles to scale this technology.
Murphy, N.P., Dempsey, S.H., DesVeaux, J.S. et al. Process innovations to enable viable enzymatic poly(ethylene terephthalate) recycling.
Nat Chem Eng (2025).
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Murphy, N.P., Dempsey, S.H., DesVeaux, J.S. et al. Process innovations to enable viable enzymatic poly(ethylene terephthalate) recycling.
Nat Chem Eng (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44286-025-00212-y
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Tags: advancements in polyester recycling technologychallenges in enzymatic polymer depolymerizationclosed-loop recycling of plasticseconomic feasibility of enzymatic PETenergy-efficient recycling processesenvironmental impact of PET recyclingenzymatic recycling of polyethylene terephthalatefed-batch processing in polymer recyclinglife cycle analysis of PET recyclingprocess innovations for PET recyclingreduction of operating expenses in recyclingsubstrate amorphization in recycling
