Roles and applications of enzymes for resistant pollutants removal in wastewater treatment

Abstract

Resistant pollutants like oil, grease, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and plastics in wastewater are difficult to be degraded by traditional activated sludge methods. These pollutants are prevalent, posing a great threat to aquatic environments and organisms since they are toxic, resistant to natural biodegradation, and create other serious problems. As a high-efficiency biocatalyst, enzymes are proposed for the treatment of these resistant pollutants. This review focused on the roles and applications of enzymes in wastewater treatment. It discusses the influence of enzyme types and their sources, enzymatic processes in resistant pollutants remediation, identification and ecotoxicity assay of enzymatic transformation products, and typically employed enzymatic wastewater treatment systems.Perspectives on the major challenges and feasible future research directions of enzyme-based wastewater treatment are also proposed.

Oxidative dehalogenation of trichlorophenol catalyzed by a promiscuous artificial heme-enzyme

“…Enzymes are the benchmark of sustainability, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable and come from renewable resources. 1 Among them, metal-containing oxidoreductases have the potential to be very useful tools for sustainable organic pollutant degradation, 3 as they use clean oxidants, such as dioxygen or hydrogen peroxide, 4 with no reaction by-products. Borrowing the skill of these enzymes is strongly dependent on our ability to develop Nature-inspired catalysts, efficiently working apart from cell regulatory constraints.…”

“…The need for sustainable technologies to meet demanding goals, such as the removal of environmental pollutants, is driving the scientic community to nd cutting-edge solutions. 1,2 Nature represents an outstanding guide for its ability to perform complicated chemical processes, using impressive catalytic systems, based on enzyme arrays. Enzymes are the benchmark of sustainability, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable and come from renewable resources.…”

Complete wastewater discoloration by a novel peroxidase source with promising bioxidative properties

“…Miranda‐Mandujano et al 29 . and Feng et al 63 . attributed the increase in toxic effects after enzymatic reaction to the formation of transformation products during the catalytic route.…”

Earth‐Abundant Metal‐Based Electrocatalysts Promoted Anodic Reaction in Hybrid Water Electrolysis for Efficient Hydrogen Production: Recent Progress and Perspectives

“…Traditionally, wastewater treatments involve chemical reaction or enzyme reaction, which require either harsh reaction conditions or high capital and operational cost. [ 133,134 ] Even though the used of microbial decomposition has largely reduced the cost, [ 135,136 ] decomposition of wastewater during energy conversion possesses additional benefits of energy savings and wide practicability. Over the last decade, wastewater treatment through electrocatalysis has attracted numerous attentions by virtue of the high efficiency, feasibility and environmental friendliness.…”