Poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF) is considered to be the next-generation green polyester and is hailed as a rising star among novel plastics. It is biobased, is nontoxic, and has comparable or improved properties compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Biobased PEF offers lower life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than PET. However, with its industrial production starting soon, relatively little is known about its actual recyclability. This work reports on the near complete depolymerization of PEF using two efficient PET hydrolases, FastPETase and leaf compost-cutinase (LCC), at loadings 4.5–17 times lower than previously reported. FastPETase and LCC exhibited maximum depolymerization of PEF, measured by weight loss and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) production, using potassium phosphate–NaOH buffer at 50 and 65 °C, respectively. The 98% depolymerization of 13 g L^–1 PEF film was achieved by three additions of the LCC in 72 h, while 78% weight loss was obtained using FastPETase in controlled conditions. Nonetheless, 92% weight loss was obtained with FastPETase when using only 6 g L^–1 PEF. The main reaction products were identified as FDCA, ethylene glycol, and mono(2-hydroxyethyl)-furanoate. LCC performed better than FastPETase, in terms of both FDCA release and weight loss. The effect of crystallinity was evident on the enzymes’ performance, as only 4% to 7% weight loss of crystalline PEF (32%) was recorded. Microscopy studies of the treated PEF films provided information on the surface erosion processes and revealed higher resistance of the crystalline phase, explaining the low level of depolymerization. The study presents important insights into the enzymatic hydrolysis of biobased PEF material and paves the path toward more viable applications within biopolymer waste recycling.

中文翻译：

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使用聚酯水解酶有效解聚聚（2,5-呋喃酸乙烯酯）


聚2,5-呋喃酸乙烯酯（PEF）被认为是下一代绿色聚酯，被誉为新型塑料中的后起之秀。它是生物基的，无毒，并且与聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯 (PET) 相比具有相当或改进的特性。生物基 PEF 的生命周期温室气体排放量低于 PET。然而，随着其工业化生产不久，人们对其实际可回收性知之甚少。这项工作报告了使用两种高效 PET 水解酶 FastPETase 和叶堆肥角质酶 (LCC) 几乎完全解聚 PEF，其负载量比之前报道的低 4.5-17 倍。 FastPETase 和 LCC 分别在 50 °C 和 65 °C 下使用磷酸钾-NaOH 缓冲液，通过重量损失和 2,5-呋喃二甲酸 (FDCA) 产量来测量 PEF 的最大解聚。通过在 72 小时内添加 3 次 LCC，13 g L ^–1 PEF 薄膜实现了 98% 的解聚，而在受控条件下使用 FastPETase 实现了 78% 的重量损失。尽管如此，仅使用 6 g L ^–1 PEF 时，FastPETase 就实现了 92% 的减重。主要反应产物经鉴定为FDCA、乙二醇和单(2-羟乙基)呋喃酸酯。在 FDCA 释放和减肥方面，LCC 的表现优于 FastPETase。结晶度对酶性能的影响很明显，结晶 PEF (32%) 的重量仅损失了 4% 至 7%。对处理过的 PEF 薄膜的显微镜研究提供了有关表面侵蚀过程的信息，并揭示了结晶相的较高电阻，解释了低水平的解聚。 该研究提出了对生物基 PEF 材料的酶水解的重要见解，并为生物聚合物废物回收中更可行的应用铺平了道路。