Adipic acid, the key ingredient in nylon, is currently made from fossil fuels in a process that pumps climate-warming gases into the atmosphere—a team of engineers and synthetic biologists plans to brew it instead from paper-mill waste and discarded plastic bottles. This matters because the existing petrochemical method for making adipic acid is a major industrial source of carbon emissions, and the waste streams the project targets—lignin from paper mills and consumer plastics—are typically burned or landfilled, releasing further CO₂. The MICROSYN project combines biological engineering with green chemistry to turn these low-value, carbon-rich waste materials into a high-value chemical. If successful, the research could replace a significant chunk of global adipic acid production with a circular, zero-emission biomanufacturing process. That would cut emissions from nylon manufacturing and reduce the environmental burden of two major waste streams, without requiring new fossil fuel feedstocks. The impact would be felt in supply chains for clothing, carpets, and engineering plastics—everyday materials that currently carry a hidden climate cost.
View original technical description
Many of the small molecules essential to our every-day lives (e.g. pharmaceuticals, clothing, cosmetics, materials, etc.) are currently manufactured from diminishing fossil fuels via industrial processes that contribute significantly to global climate change. Record high atmospheric CO2 levels in 2020 and ambitious net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050 mean that urgent sustainable manufacturing solutions are now required to reduce the environmental burden of this industry on our planet for future generations. The MICROSYN project will uniquely combine cutting-edge modern biological engineering with green chemistry to create transformative solutions to the sustainable manufacture of the nylon-precursor adipic acid from abundant waste generated by the paper-mill industry (lignin) and consumer use (plastic bottles). This will eliminate carbon emissions from the current petrochemical method used to make this compound (currently >20,000,000 ton/year; 5-10% of all human-associated CO2/N2O emissions worldwide) and create circular bioprocesses that avoid the incineration of existing waste streams (releasing further CO2), whilst also addressing the global plastic waste crisis. The project recognizes low-value waste as an underutilized carbon-rich feedstock, and employs modern synthetic biology to transform these abundant and sustainable resources into a high-value chemical via novel biomanufacturing processes.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know