Abstract
Elimination of recalcitrant chemicals during wastewater treatment is a difficult problem for both developing and industrialized countries. The biological elimination of very persistent xenobiotics such as endocrine disrupting chemicals from municipal and industrial sewage treatment plants is an ambitious challenge as existing physico-chemical methods, such as advanced oxidation processes, are energy-intensive and consume high amounts of chemicals. Through the entry into force of strict legislative measures, such as the Water Framework Directives (EU WFD in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy, 2000) and REACH (REACH EU in European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006), 2007), the market for wastewater treatment is exploding. For instance the European market potential for the membrane bioreactor technology is estimated to 57 M€ per year. Based on recent progresses in nanotechnology, new developments in catalysis and environmental applications can be foreseen for the near future. Indeed, because of high surface area-to-volume ratio in nano-systems, heterogeneous enzymatic or catalytic reactions can be greatly enhanced. In the LANCE project a nanoparticle (NP)-based technology is under development. Cheap and resistant oxidative enzymes, i.e. laccases are immobilized onto the surface of the particles in order to produce systems possessing a broad substrate spectrum for the degradation of cocktails of recalcitrant pollutants. One of the objectives is to produce NPs that are compatible with wastewater treatment and can be synthesised in a cost-effective and large-scale fashion, e.g. silica-based NPs using flame spray pyrolysis and emulsion-based techniques. The modified particles are applied in bioreactors where they are retained, i.e. membrane bioreactors or perfusion basket reactors to eliminate pollutants from the wastewater. Such reactors allow multi-cycle use of the NPs coated with active enzymes and thus contribute to decrease the treatment costs. The two-year activities of the LANCE project encompass the synthesis of various NP systems, the immobilization of selected low cost industrial laccases on the latter, and the technical and scientific proof of the “depollution” concept.
References
Cabana H, Jones JP, Agathos SN (2007a) Elimination of endocrine disrupting chemicals using white rot fungi and their lignin modifying enzymes: a review. Eng Life Sci 7:429–456
Cabana H, Jones JP, Agathos SN (2007b) Preparation and characterization of cross-linked laccase aggregates and their application to the elimination of endocrine disrupting chemicals. J Biotechnol 132:23–31
Cabana H, Alexandre C, Agathos SN, Jones JP (2009a) Immobilization of laccase from the white rot fungus Coriolopsis polyzona and use of the immobilized biocatalyst for the continuous elimination of endocrine disrupting chemicals. Bioresour Technol 100:3447–3458
Cabana H, Jones JP, Agathos SN (2009b) Utilization of cross-linked laccase aggregates in a perfusion basket reactor for the continuous elimination of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Biotechnol Bioeng 102:1582–1592
Cirja M, Ivashechkin P, Schäffer A, Corvini PFX (2008) Factors affecting the elimination of organic micropollutants from wastewater in conventional treatment plants (CTP) and membrane bioreactors (MBR). Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 7:61–78
Corvini PFX, Schäffer A, Schlosser D (2006) Microbial degradation of nonylphenol and other alkylphenols–Our evolving view. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 72:223–243
Esplugas S, Bila DM, Krause LG, Dezotti M (2007) Ozonation and advanced oxidation technologies to remove endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in water effluents. J Hazard Mat 149:631–642
EU WFD (2000) Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html
Haglund C, Levín L, Forchiassin F, López M, Viale A (2002) Degradation of environmental pollutants by Trametes trogii. Rev Argent Microbiol 34:157–162
Halling-Sorensen B, Nors Nielsen S, Lanzky PF, Ingerslev F, Holten Lutzhoft HC, Jorgensen SE (1998) Occurrence, fate and effects of pharmaceutical substances in the environment- A review. Chemosphere 36:357–393
Hu X, Zhao X, Hwang HM (2007) Comparative study of immobilized Trametes versicolor laccase on nanoparticles and kaolinite. Chemosphere 66:1618–1626
Hu X, Wang P, Hwang HM (2009) Oxidation of anthracene by immobilized laccase from Trametes versicolor. Bioresour Technol 100:4963–4968
Klavarioti M, Mantzavinos D, Kassinos D (2009) Removal of residual pharmaceuticals from aqueous systems by advanced oxidation processes. Environ Int 35:402–417
Lienert J, Bürki T, Escher BI (2007) Reducing micropollutants with source control: substance flow analysis of 212 pharmaceuticals in faeces and urine. Water Sci Technol 56:87–96
Martin C, Moeder M, Daniel X, Krauss G, Schlosser D (2007) Biotransformation of the polycyclic musks HHCB and AHTN and metabolite formation by fungi occurring in freshwater environments. Environ Sci Technol 41:5395–5402
REACH EU (2007) European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use (EC 1907/2006). Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/reach_intro.htm
Stanescu MD, Fogorasi M, Shaskolskiy BL, Gavrilas S, Lozinsky VI (2009) New potential biocatalysts by laccase immobilization in PVA cryogel type carrier. Appl Biochem Biotechnol. doi: 10.1007/s12010-009-8755-0
Stoeber W, Fink A, Bohn E (1968) Controlled growth of monodisperse silica spheres in the micron size range. J Colloid Interface Sci 26:62–69
Ternes TA (1998) Occurrence of drugs in German sewage treatment plants and rivers. Water Res 32:3245–3260
Acknowledgments
The partners of the project LANCE acknowledge the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation, the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment, the Research Council of Norway, and the Walloon Region for their financial support. The authors thank S. Agathos, C. Junghanns, F. Linners, R. Schmidt, and P. Stenstad for critical reading of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Corvini, P.F.X., Shahgaldian, P. LANCE: Laccase-nanoparticle conjugates for the elimination of micropollutants (endocrine disrupting chemicals) from wastewater in bioreactors. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 9, 23–27 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-009-9182-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-009-9182-y