Chemists have managed to synthesize the paracetamol of plastic waste thanks to a reaction that involves E. coli bacteria, according to a study published on Monday, June 23, whose large -scale participation is still very uncertain.
This experience “shows that it is possible to produce this essential medicine from plastic waste, through a process that could not work from a chemical or biological synthesis,” summarizes this study published in the scientific journal Nature Chemistry and conducted by researchers from the Scottish University of Edinburgh.
Paracetamol, a drug used against pain and fever, is one of the most common drugs that are sold under denominations such as Doliprane. It occurs based on oil derivatives, more frequently by subcontractors based in Asia, through very economical but quite polluting techniques.
A chemical reaction in Escherichia coli bacteria
The authors of the study, financed, among other things by the Astrazeneca pharmaceutical laboratory, proceeded in several stages. First they used components of a used PET plastic bottle (ethylene polythereftaplate) to induce a chemical reaction in a bacteria strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli).
At the end of this first step, the bacteria synthesized a molecule, called “Paba.” Then, by genetically modifying bacteria, scientists allowed them to transform this molecule into paracetamol.
The authors argue that this experience opens the way to new techniques to recycle plastic waste. The fact is that the large -scale application is not easy.
There are still “several practical considerations” to resolve beyond the mere “demonstration of viability” made by this study, they write several researchers who have not participated in the study in a comment, also published by Nature Chemistry. They point out that the initial reaction produces only a limited amount of Paba molecules, which “might not be sufficient for industrial applications.”
Skepticism
But the experience is “promising”, admit, emphasizing the interest of studying processes that mix biology and artificial chemical reactions.
However, the study has aroused skepticism in environmental defense organizations. “For years, it has never spent a few months without having a new ‘bacterium plastic food,” joked with AFP Melissa Valliant of the NGO beyond plastic.
“These discoveries never reach a sufficient scale to deal with the main problem of plastic pollution.”
Source: BFM TV
