terephthalic acid

American  

[ter-ef-thal-ik, ter-] / ˈtɛr ɛfˈθæl ɪk, ˌtɛr- /

noun

Chemistry.

1. a white, crystalline, water-insoluble solid, C 8 H 6 O 2 , the para isomer of phthalic acid: used chiefly in the manufacture of resins and textile fibers.

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terephthalic acid British  

/ ˌtɛrɛfˈθælɪk /

noun

1. a white crystalline water-insoluble carboxylic acid used in making polyester resins such as Terylene; 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid. Formula: C 6 H 4 (COOH) 2

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Etymology

Origin of terephthalic acid

First recorded in 1855–60; tere(bic) + phthalic

Example Sentences

Previously, a team of researchers including Stephen Wallace engineered a strain of E. coli to transform the main component in old PET bottles, terephthalic acid, into something tastier and more valuable: the vanilla flavor compound vanillin.

From Science Daily

The team developed a new E. coli strain that produced enzymes that could transform terephthalic acid into compounds such as muconic acid and adipic acid.

From Science Daily

At the same time, other researchers engineered microbes to metabolize terephthalic acid into a variety of small molecules, including short acids.

From Science Daily

So, Wallace and a new team from the University of Edinburgh wanted to expand E. coli's biosynthetic pathways to include the metabolism of terephthalic acid into adipic acid, a feedstock for many everyday products that's typically generated from fossil fuels using energy-intensive processes.

From Science Daily

In experiments, the team found that attaching the engineered microbial cells to alginate hydrogel beads improved their efficiency, and up to 79% of the terephthalic acid was converted into adipic acid.

From Science Daily