VATIS UPDATE Article

Biologists at the Bangor University, the United Kingdom, and Liverpool University, the United Kingdom, has for the first time identified the enzymes which degrade natural materials such as paper and clothing in landfill sites. “There is a current impetus to search for new enzymes to improve biomass conversion processes. Our hypothesis is that, due to the volume of waste materials they hold, landfill sites represent a repository of unexplored biomass-degrading diversity,” said James McDonald, at Bangor University.

Scientists have been searching for a number of years for the most effective enzymes which break down the cellulose and lignin within the residual natural fibres. The obvious place to search has been in the rumen of sheep and cows, who eat grasses, and the guts of also other plant eaters such as elephants and termites.