Esterases have emerged as important biocatalysts for enzyme-based polyester recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) to terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). Here, we present process modeling, techno-economic, life-cycle, and socioeconomic impact analyses for an enzymatic PET depolymerization-based recycling process, which we compare with virgin TPA manufacturing. We predict that enzymatically recycled TPA (rTPA) can be cost-competitive and highlight key areas to achieve this. In addition to favorable long-term socioeconomic benefits, rTPA can reduce total supply chain energy use by 69%–83% and greenhouse gas emissions by 17%–43% per kg of TPA. An economy-wide assessment for the US estimates that the TPA recycling process can reduce environmental impacts by up to 95% while generating up to 45% more socioeconomic benefits, also relative to virgin TPA production. Sensitivity analyses highlight impactful research opportunities to pursue toward realizing biological PET recycling and upcycling.

酯酶已成为将聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯 (PET) 转化为对苯二甲酸 (TPA) 和乙二醇 (EG) 的酶基聚酯回收的重要生物催化剂。在这里，我们介绍了基于酶促 PET 解聚的回收过程的过程建模、技术经济、生命周期和社会经济影响分析，我们将其与原始 TPA 制造进行了比较。我们预测酶促回收 TPA (rTPA) 具有成本竞争力，并突出实现这一目标的关键领域。除了有利的长期社会经济效益外，每公斤 TPA，rTPA 还可以将供应链总能源使用量减少 69%–83%，温室气体排放量减少 17%–43%。美国的一项经济范围评估估计，TPA 回收过程可以减少高达 95% 的环境影响，同时产生高达 45% 的社会经济效益，也相对于原始 TPA 生产。敏感性分析突出了有影响力的研究机会，以实现生物 PET 回收和升级。