Is PET biodegradable?  PET is short for polyethylene terephthalate.  It’s a clear, strong, and lightweight plastic widely used for packaging foods and beverages, especially convenience-sized soft drinks, juices, and water. Nearly all bottles of carbonated soft drinks and water sold in the U.S. are made from PET, which is also popular for packaging salad dressings, peanut butter, cooking oils, mouthwash, shampoo, liquid hand soap, and window cleaners.  Historically, these plastics were a tremendous pollution problem – ending up in oceans and landfills worldwide.  However, research is close to ending this devastating problem.

Researchers at Leipzeg University in Germany have recently found an enzyme that breaks down PET rapidly.  In fact, it disintegrated an entire piece of plastic in less than a day.  And, in the U.S., researchers at the University of Texas in Austin have created a PET-eating protein using a machine learning algorithm. They believe their protein can degrade PET plastic in 24 hours.  Expect to see major advances over the next few years in this more important area.

With over 150 experts worldwide, Lee Enterprises Consulting has experts in many specific clean and renewable areas, including PET plastic, bioplastics, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, biomass, conversion technologies for things like tires and railroad ties, organic synthesis, fuel additives, ethanol gas, biodiesel fuel including algae biofuels, solid-state and industrial fermentation, green energy grants, ag-biotech, agricultural waste, alcohol fuels, alternative proteins and animal-free products, sustainable foods, beverage fermentation, biocatalysis, biodiesel conversion, biogas production, biomass power, carbon intensity, co2 utilization, combined heat & power, Fischer-Tropsch technology, food waste, hydrothermal carbonization, industrial enzymes, landfill management, microbial fermentation, organic synthesis, plastic pyrolysis, plastic recycling, plastic waste, pyrolysis oil, reactor design, renewable identification number, the Renewable Fuel Standard (rfs2), solid recovered fuels, torrefaction and torrefied biomass, waste to energy, and waste-to-hydrogen.   This multidisciplinary group of green energy consultants is a virtual “one-stop-shop” for any client need and handles projects of all types and sizes.

Look at our experts and the services we provide.  Most of our experts are also available to advise and serve as expert witnesses in bioeconomy litigation matters.  We specialize in putting together full-service, interdisciplinary teams with one point of contact for the larger projects.  See the video about LEC here.  Call us at 1+ (501) 833-8511 or email us for more information.

See also:  Plastic Waste Recycling and Techno-economic Analysis of Plastics Pyrolysis,