Major Breakthrough in PET Biodegradation Field: Results of National Key R&D Program Project Revealed

Recently, the project team of the national key research and development program "Green Biotechnology Manufacturing," specifically the key special project on "Key Technologies for Efficient Biological Depolymerization of Plastics," published a review article titled "State-of-the-art advances in biotechnology for polyethylene terephthalate bio-depolymerization" in the journal "Green Carbon." The article summarizes the significant breakthroughs achieved during the project execution and discusses in detail the international cutting-edge progress in the field of PET biological depolymerization. It also explores the challenges and potential solutions for promoting enzymatic depolymerization of PET and realizing the recycling of waste PET polymers.

The co-first authors of the article include Researcher Liu Yajun from the Qingdao Institute of Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Associate Professor Zhou Jie from Nanjing Tech University, and Professor Li Yanwei from Shandong University. Academician Tan Tianwei from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Professor Jiang Min from Nanjing Tech University, and Professor Cui Zhongli from Nanjing Agricultural University are the co-corresponding authors of the paper. This research involves 15 experts and scholars from 8 research institutions, reflecting the interdisciplinary collaboration and innovative synergy among various subjects, units, and members during the project execution.

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Project Progress

The "Key Technologies for Efficient Biological Decomposition of Plastics" project is led by Professor Cui Zhongli from Nanjing Agricultural University, in collaboration with 10 institutions including Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Nanjing University of Technology, Shandong University, and Tsinghua University.

The project revolves around the national major demand for the recycling of carbon resources from discarded plastics, focusing on key scientific issues and technological bottlenecks in plastic biodegradation. It conducts research on the interfacial control mechanisms of plastic depolymerization, the basic principles of surface-catalyzed biodegradation, and the natural evolutionary laws and molecular mechanisms of plastic biodegradation. Consequently, it aims to create a biocatalyst system with high depolymerization activity and stability for plastics, establishing a new enzymatic depolymerization process and pilot demonstration for processing tons of PET plastic monthly, achieving green manufacturing by converting polyester plastics into monomer raw materials and polyolefin plastics into biodegradable plastics.

The key technologies achieved by this project can effectively promote the resource utilization of waste plastics, aligning with the national major scientific and technological application needs, and providing significant social, ecological, and economic benefits. It is reported that the project completed its performance evaluation on January 24, 2025. The expert group unanimously agreed that the five sub-projects have successfully met the established assessment indicators and demonstrated the pilot verification of enzyme-based depolymerization of PET waste plastics at a monthly processing scale. The project is currently entering the performance evaluation stage of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

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Project Division of Labor

The Nanjing University of Technology-Petrochemical Alliance Key Laboratory for Biodegradation and Conversion of Waste Plastics, led by Professor Jiang Min, is the undertaking unit for Project Topic 1. Professor Chen Xiaoqiang, as the project leader, is primarily responsible for the efficient screening and intelligent mining of plastic depolymerizing microorganisms/enzymes. Associate Professors Zhou Jie, Zhou Xiaoli, and Xu Anming serve as sub-project leaders, respectively undertaking key tasks such as high-throughput screening and identification of plastic degrading microorganisms, process and pilot study of plastic biodegradation, and de novo design of biodegradation pathways for polyolefin plastics.

The project relies on the foundation established by the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s international (China-Europe) cooperation project “Key Scientific Issues and Technologies for Efficient Biodegradation and Transformation of Waste Plastics” (MIX-UP), which has developed a comprehensive research methodology and system for the biodegradation and high-value transformation of plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyurethane (PUR), and polylactic acid (PLA). It will further develop a germplasm resource bank for plastic-degrading microorganisms/enzymes and conduct pilot demonstration research on enzymatic depolymerization and recycling of plastics. Professors Jiang Min and Dong Weiliang have provided important technical guidance and academic support for the successful implementation of this project.