Science News from research organizations Scientists create biodegradable plastic stronger than PET Date: September 4, 2025 Source: Kobe University Summary: A Japanese research team successfully harnessed E. coli to produce PDCA, a strong, biodegradable plastic alternative.
Their method avoids toxic byproducts and achieves record production levels, overcoming key roadblocks with creative fixes. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY A Kobe University group now published that they achieved the production of PDCA which is biodegradable and materials incorporating this show physical properties comparable to or even surpassing those of PET in bioreactors at concentrations more than seven-fold higher than previously reported.
Credit: Tsutomu Tanaka The PET-alternative PDCA is biodegradable and has superior physical properties. A Kobe University team of bioengineers engineered E.
coli bacteria to produce the compound from glucose at unprecedented levels and without byproducts -- and opened up a realm of possibilities for the future of bioengineering. The durability of plastics is both the reason why they have become so wide-spread and why they pose environmental problems.
*Reporting by Sciencedaily.*
