Potentialities of a Membrane Reactor with Laccase Grafted Membranes for the Enzymatic Degradation of Phenolic Compounds in Water

Abstract: This paper describes the degradation of phenolic compounds by laccases from Trametes versicolor in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR). The enzymatic membranes were prepared by grafting laccase on a gelatine layer previously deposited onto α-alumina tubular membranes. The 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) was selected from among the three different phenolic compounds tested (guaiacol, 4-chlorophenol and DMP) to study the performance of the EMR in dead end configuration. At the lowest feed substrate concentration tested (100 mg·L −1 ), consumption increased with flux (up to 7.9 × 10 3 mg·h −1 ·m −2 at 128 L·h −1 ·m −2 ), whereas at the highest substrate concentration (500 mg·L −1 ), it was shown that the reaction was limited by the oxygen content. Keywords: enzymatic membrane reactor; laccase; phenolic compounds; wastewater treatment 1. Introduction Due to the high toxicity of phenolic compounds for living organisms, their removal from industrial or domestic wastewaters is a current and very important issue. Among the different available technologies for wastewater treatment, the enzymatic conversion of phenols into quinones using laccases