[자막뉴스] 플라스틱 분해 속도 '비교불가'...압도적 성능 자랑한 한국 / YTN

This is a plastic bottle, a common everyday item. We placed the bottle in a reactor and started the reactor. Then, the bottle began to slowly decompose. The key to PET bottle decomposition lies in biocatalysts, or enzymes. PET bottles are made of PET plastic, and PET is one of the few plastics that can be decomposed by enzymes, biocatalysts. To identify enzymes with the highest efficiency in decomposing PET plastic, the research team developed an algorithm to predict the decomposition capacity of tens of thousands of PET-degrading enzymes found in nature. Through this process, they identified the enzyme with the highest decomposition efficiency, "KubuP." They then modified some of the amino acids in the discovered enzyme, KubuP, to improve its thermal stability and decomposition capacity, creating KubuM12, suitable for industrial mass production. [Kim Kyung-jin / Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Kyungpook National University: First, we identified the three-dimensional structure of the selected KubuP protein enzyme. By examining the three-dimensional structure, we can predict which amino acids would be ideally substituted to enhance activity or thermal stability. The final product, Kubu M12, demonstrated world-leading performance, using just 0.58g of enzyme to degrade 1kg of PET by 45% in one hour and over 90% in eight hours. The research team explained that the developed enzyme selectively reacts only with PET plastic, resulting in a pure product and excellent material quality when recycled. The research team recently launched a startup and conducted joint research with CJ CheilJedang, bringing the technology one step closer to commercialization. This is Lee Seong-gyu from YTN Science. Video Reporting | Kim Young-hwan Subtitle News | Jeong Eui-jin, Lee Do-hyung #YTNSubtitleNews ※ 'Your Report Becomes News' [KakaoTalk] Search for YTN and add the channel [Phone] 02-398-8585 [Email] [email protected] ▶ Original Article: https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0134_202501... ▶ Report: https://mj.ytn.co.kr/mj/mj_write.php ▣ Subscribe to YTN YouTube Channel: http://goo.gl/Ytb5SZ ⓒ YTN. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI data are prohibited.