Enzymatic routes for the oxidative degradation of waste electronics

The critical step in the recycling of the plastic components from WEEE is the separation of the "organic" plastics from the "inorganic" metal and mineral constituents. Processes that decompose plastics into small molecular fragments will facilitate efficient removal of the inorganic components, and also enable the organic materials (which form the bulk of the waste) to be reused as chemical feedstocks or safely disposed. This project aims to recombinantly engineer oxidative enzymes and the chemical reaction pathways involved in the break-down of polymers used in electronic circuit boards. Thus, the research will involve elements of mutagenesis and production of enzymes and the chemical analysis of the enzymatic reactions. It will also include the chemical synthesis of small molecule models of the polymers and the computational modelling of enzyme-substrate binding.