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this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2025
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Is chemical energy more readily available from plastics than from wood? You'd have to imagine it is if evolution is adapting these timescales.
with wood, the problem was with lignin which is tightly crosslinked, meaning that it's insoluble and organism willing to eat it has to secrete some enzymes to break it down in smaller bits that can be absorbed
depending on plastic, this first step might be easier or even happening on its own. there are already bacteria that feed on nylon but nylon starting materials are easier to digest for them
lignin balls