Bacteria converts degraded plastic bottles into vanilla flavoring:
Developing forms of plastic that don't take centuries to break down after use is a common objective among eco-conscious material scientists, and lately we're seeing how bacteria might offer a helping hand. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have taken this idea one step further, by demonstrating how an engineered form of E. coli bacteria can be used to turn plastic bottles into vanillin, the primary compound of vanilla flavoring.
[...] While PET can be converted into its original building blocks that are used to produce more PET plastics through current recycling methods, the authors of the new study sought to turn it into something else entirely. They developed a technique that uses an engineered form of E. coli bacteria to take aim at a PET waste product called terephthalic acid (TA). With fine-tuning of the chemical reactions, the bacteria was added to degraded PET plastic bottles and was able to convert 79 percent of the TA to vanillin.
[...] While vanillin is the main chemical component of extracted vanilla beans, it has wide-ranging applications beyond just the food industry, also serving as an ingredient in herbicides, cosmetics, cleaning products and anti-foaming agents. So, if the scientists can demonstrate how their technique can be scaled up, it could offer a new source for a product the world uses tens of thousands of tonnes of each year.
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 22 2021, @11:31AM
I for one can't wait to see the next development from Global Elite Labs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 22 2021, @01:27PM
At least so far. There's plenty of vanillin. The natural version of vanilla is a lot more rare (and it actually is different because it contains a bunch of other stuff, just in smaller quantities), but synthetic vanillin is easy to get.
Get bacteria that work on polyethylene or styrene. That'll be genuinely useful, so long as they can do something with the carbon besides turn it into CO2.
(Score: 1) by HammeredGlass on Tuesday June 22 2021, @05:56PM
Why do food companies go to the trouble of using plant or animal based dyes in European countries and using petrodyes in the U.S.A.? It can't be just money?
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday June 22 2021, @06:31PM
And here I am sitting on a metric ton of vanillin wishing I had a way to convert it to degraded plastic bottles...
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 22 2021, @06:54PM
Given they know where it comes from. Better stick with the jet fuel
https://www.plasticstoday.com/automotive-and-mobility/researchers-convert-waste-plastic-jet-fuel-low-temperatures-within-hour [plasticstoday.com]