Development of green, efficient and profitable recycling processes for plastic material will contribute to reduce the expanding plastic pollution and microplastics accumulation in the environment. Polyurethanes (PU) are versatile polymers with a large range of chemical compositions and structures. This variability increases the complexity of PU waste management. Biological recycling researchers have recently demonstrated great interest in polyethylene terephthalate. The adaptation of this route towards producing polyurethanes requires the discovery of enzymes that are able to depolymerize a large variety of PU. A laccase mediated system (LMS) was tested on four representative PU models, with different structures (foams and thermoplastics), and chemical compositions (polyester- and polyether-based PU). Size exclusion chromatography was performed on the thermoplastics and this revealed a significant reduction in the molar masses after 18 days of incubation at 37 °C. Degradation of foams under the same conditions was demonstrated by microscopy and compression assay for both polyester- and polyether-based PU. This study represents a major breakthrough in PU degradation, as it is the first time that enzymatic degradation has been clearly demonstrated on a polyether-based PU foam. This work is a step forward in the development of a sustainable recycling pathway, adapted to a large variety of PU materials.

开发绿色、高效和有利可图的塑料材料回收工艺将有助于减少不断扩大的塑料污染和微塑料在环境中的积累。聚氨酯 (PU) 是具有多种化学成分和结构的多功能聚合物。这种可变性增加了 PU 废物管理的复杂性。生物回收研究人员最近对聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯表现出了极大的兴趣。将该路线用于生产聚氨酯需要发现能够解聚多种 PU 的酶。在具有不同结构（泡沫和热塑性塑料）和化学成分（聚酯和聚醚基 PU）的四种代表性 PU 模型上测试了漆酶介导系统 (LMS)。对热塑性塑料进行尺寸排阻色谱，这表明在 37°C 下孵育 18 天后摩尔质量显着降低。聚酯和聚醚基 PU 的显微镜和压缩试验证明了在相同条件下泡沫的降解。这项研究代表了 PU 降解方面的重大突破，因为这是首次在聚醚基 PU 泡沫上清楚地证明了酶促降解。这项工作是开发适用于多种 PU 材料的可持续回收途径向前迈出的一步。聚酯和聚醚基 PU 的显微镜和压缩试验证明了在相同条件下泡沫的降解。这项研究代表了 PU 降解方面的重大突破，因为这是首次在聚醚基 PU 泡沫上清楚地证明了酶促降解。这项工作是开发适用于多种 PU 材料的可持续回收途径向前迈出的一步。聚酯和聚醚基 PU 的显微镜和压缩试验证明了在相同条件下泡沫的降解。这项研究代表了 PU 降解方面的重大突破，因为这是首次在聚醚基 PU 泡沫上清楚地证明了酶促降解。这项工作是开发适用于多种 PU 材料的可持续回收途径向前迈出的一步。