A discovery with potential, but whose Large -scale application still faces significant challenges.
Researchers successfully synthesized acetaminophen from plastic waste using a reaction involving the E. coli bacteria. However, large -scale application is not easy.
Paracetamol, used for pain and fever, is one of the most used medicines. It is produced from petroleum derivatives, Most of the time by external companies based in Asia, using very cheap but relatively polluting techniques.
From the plastic bottle to the acetaminophen
The authors of the study, funded by the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca, among others, advanced in several stages.
Firstly, they used components of a PET plastic bottle (polyethylene terephthalate) used to induce a chemical reaction in an Escherichia coli bacterium strain (E. coli).
At the end of this first stage, the bacteria synthesized a molecule called “Paba”. Then, through the genetic modification of the bacteria, scientists were able to turn this molecule into acetaminophen.
Large -scale application is not simple
The authors argued that this experience paves the way for new plastic waste recycling techniques. However, the large -scale application is still far from simple.
There are “various practical considerations” to resolve to go beyond the simple “proof of concept” provided by this study, there were several researchers, who did not participate in the study, in a comment also published by Nature Chemistry.
These scientists pointed out that the initial reaction produces only one Limited amount of Paba molecules, which “may not be sufficient for industrial applications”.
But the experience is promising, they admitted, underlining the value of the study of processes that combine artificial biology and chemical reactions.
Skeptical environmentalists
The study, however, aroused skepticism among environmental organizations.
“For years, it has not spent a single month without a new ‘plastic devouring bacteria,'” said Melissa Valliant of the Beyond Plastic Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) to France-Presse (AFP).
“These discoveries never reach enough scale to solve the big problem of plastic pollution,” he said.
