Phenol and substituted phenols are widely produced and/or consumed by various industrial processes (Masuda et al., 2001, Kumar et al., 2003). Generally, these pollutants are toxic, bio-refractory (Kumar et al., 2003), pose carcinogenic or mutagenic potential and/or act as endocrine disruptors (Steevensz et al., 2009). A two-step process for the removal of phenol and benzenediols (substituted phenols), namely catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone, from buffered synthetic wastewater by using laccase from Trametes villosa followed by the removal of products using alum as coagulant, was investigated. The effects of pH, laccase concentration and a hydrophilic polymer additive, polyethylene glycol (PEG), to achieve >95% removal of the substrate in a three-hour reaction period at room temperature were determined. As phenol and benzenediols might co-exist in industrial effluents, enzymatic treatment of an equimolar mixture of these four substrates was examined. Except for hydroquinone, the proposed enzymatic treatment method is a viable alternative means to remove phenol and benzenediols from wastewaters.
展开▼
