📋 Tender Overview
BGN Technologies BGUs technology transfer company announced this week that it has signed a research collaboration agreement with ECOIBRIA in the field of plastic recycling by bacteria based on research from the team of Prof. Ariel Kushmaro and Prof. Alex Sivan both from BGUs Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and the Avram and Stella Goldstein-Goren Department of Biotechnology Engineering. Polyethylene terephthalate PET is the most abundantly used polymer in the world with multiple applications in the textile industry as well as in food and beverage packaging. It is estimated that about 56 million tons of PET are produced yearly worldwide mostly as single use packaging material. Therefore intense efforts are directed towards recycling and reuse of the PET plastic materials.Prof.s Kushmaro and Sivan and their team have been studying plastic biodegradation and have discovered several bacteria species that are able to biodegrade polyethylene which was previously considered a non-biodegradable plastic mainly because of the highly stable carboncarbon CC bonds of the polymer backbone. Based on these findings the research collaboration project will assess the biodegradation of PET by previously identified bacteria as well as novel ones with the aim of developing an efficient biodegradation process of PET whose products will be used as raw materials for recycled PET in the future. Plastic-containing products is one of the biggest environmental challenges facing modern society and degradation and recycling of plastic are one crucial strategy for dealing with the environmental impact of PET said Prof. Kushmaro. Existing technologies such as thermo-mechanical recycling impair the mechanical properties of the polymer and suffer from other disadvantages such as the need for organic solvents high reaction temperatures and intensive waste sorting. Bacterial degradation of PET into recyclable materials that can be then reused to manufacture new PET products is therefore a promising strategy that can have a global environmental and economic impact. ECOIBRIAs mission is to guarantee the sustainability of the production and consumption models and assist in the transition from the linear economy to the circular economy through the transformation of PET plastic waste into valuable secondary raw materials said Mr. Jorge Lemos CEO at ECOIBRIA. We believe that BGUs innovations in the field of bacterial biodegradation of PET complements our technologies and has the potential to become an important contribution to our plastic recycling efforts. Shirley Sheffer VP Business Development at BGN Technologies added Profs. Kushmaro and Sivan are world experts in the field of plastic biodegradation. We are very pleased to partner with ECOIBRIA a leading European company in the field of plastic waste recycling for further researching this important field. This research collaboration holds the potential of implementing future findings into ECOIBRIA environmentally-friendly materials and products.
