“If you define the problem correctly, you almost have the solution.”
– Steve jobs
Enzymes for wastewater treat the toxic water by breaking down and
transforming harmful contaminants into benign, easily collected, easily
cleaned biodegradable parts. The treatment eliminates or reduces water
toxicity and making the water supply fit to reuse. Enzymes for
wastewater treatment can be introduced directly to the water source, or
even mixed with microbes and then added to the water source. Enzymes can
also be deployed by introducing whole plants or their tissues that
contain large amounts of enzymes in natural form.Active enzymes are
sourced and produced from several groups of bacteria and fungi. Specific
enzymes are needed to catalyze specific pollutants and in specific
concentrations.
Inorganic pollutants like phenols, bi-phenols,
methylated phenols, chlorophenols, benzidines, anilines, and other
heterocyclic aromatic compounds are treated by – Oxidoreductases,
peroxidases, and oxygenases while;
Protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, urease, and xylanases work specifically on organic pollutants. They break down the organic pollutants into easily manageable parts.
These are also known as septic tank enzymes used generally for treating
sewage wastewater.
Benefits of Using Enzymes in Wastewater Treatment
Using enzymes in wastewater treatment has a variety of benefits that range from environmental to financial.
1. Cleaner environment and sustainable industry practices
2. Replacement of costly chemicals with enzymes that are viable economically.
3. Using enzymes does not require specialized machinery,
4. The enzymes used do not undergo any transformation themselves, hence are active in the presence of a substrate
5. Water is a valuable commodity. Using enzymes cleans water sources and increases the reuse of treated water.
Enzymes Used in Wastewater Treatment
Let us look into the role of certain enzymes in wastewater treatment and their workings.
1. Oxygenases Oxygenases are used to treat water sources that are contaminated by
fossil fuels like petroleum and diesel. Fossil fuels are hydrophobic.
Oxygenases work by introducing molecular or atomic oxygen into these
pollutants which turn them into water-soluble compounds which are
oxidized and treated.
2. Peroxidases Peroxidases are used to treat water sources polluted by chemical
compounds like phenols, dyes, aromatic compounds, and organic peroxides
specifically hydrogen peroxide. Peroxidases transfer electrons to these
compounds which results in their breaking into smaller harmless
compounds.
3. Polyphenol oxidases Polyphenol oxidases are enzymes in wastewater treatment used for
removing phenolic pollutants from wastewater. They break the phenolic
pollutants repeatedly until they form insoluble molecular pigments which
can easily be extracted and disposed of. Polyphenol oxidases are widely
present on earth and used commercially in the food and beverage
industry too. These enzymes can further be divided into 2 main
categories of Tyrosinase and Laccase as per their oxidation of different
phenolic compounds.
Tyrosinases
Tyrosinases are type-3 cuprodinucleate metalloproteins that convert
phenolic pollutants to insoluble agglomerates. Insoluble agglomerates
are less toxic and easily be separated.
Laccases
Laccase enzymes are used to treat wastewater generated through the
textile industry. This wastewater contains several effluents including
phenols and dyes. Laccases oxidize and polymerize these effluents and
treat wastewater thus generated.
