Nanorobot Plastic Degradation System NanoPlastix Pilots in Mediterranean: Each Gram of Nanorobots Decomposes 500 Grams of PET Plastic

France's Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) announced on July 20 that its NanoPlastix nanorobot system completed a three-month marine plastic degradation pilot in the Mediterranean Sea near Marseille. NanoPlastix is a catalytic nanorobot approximately 200 nanometers in diameter, with its surface modified with PETase enzyme (PET plastic degradation enzyme), capable of autonomously seeking and decomposing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic microparticles in seawater.

Pilot results showed that each gram of NanoPlastix nanorobots can decompose approximately 500 grams of PET plastic within 72 hours. The degradation products are terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol, both of which can be further metabolized by marine microorganisms. CNRS nanoscience director Marie Dubois stated: "We are not creating ocean janitors but accelerating the degradation process that nature should have carried out on its own."