Applications of Biocatalysts for Sustainable Oxidation of Phenolic Pollutants: A Review

Sanaz Salehi, Kourosh Abdollahi, Reza Panahi, Nejat Rahmanian, Mozaffar Shakeri and Babak Mokhtarani
Additional contact information
Sanaz Salehi: School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora West Campus, Plenty Road, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia
Kourosh Abdollahi: School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora West Campus, Plenty Road, Melbourne, VIC 3083, Australia
Reza Panahi: Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), Tehran 14968-13151, Iran
Nejat Rahmanian: Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
Mozaffar Shakeri: Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), Tehran 14968-13151, Iran
Babak Mokhtarani: Chemistry & Chemical Engineering Research Center of Iran (CCERCI), Tehran 14968-13151, Iran

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-35

Abstract: Phenol and its derivatives are hazardous, teratogenic and mutagenic, and have gained significant attention in recent years due to their high toxicity even at low concentrations. Phenolic compounds appear in petroleum refinery wastewater from several sources, such as the neutralized spent caustic waste streams, the tank water drain, the desalter effluent and the production unit. Therefore, effective treatments of such wastewaters are crucial. Conventional techniques used to treat these wastewaters pose several drawbacks, such as incomplete or low efficient removal of phenols. Recently, biocatalysts have attracted much attention for the sustainable and effective removal of toxic chemicals like phenols from wastewaters. The advantages of biocatalytic processes over the conventional treatment methods are their ability to operate over a wide range of operating conditions, low consumption of oxidants, simpler process control, and no delays or shock loading effects associated with the start-up/shutdown of the plant. Among different biocatalysts, oxidoreductases (i.e., tyrosinase, laccase and horseradish peroxidase) are known as green catalysts with massive potentialities to sustainably tackle phenolic contaminants of high concerns. Such enzymes mainly catalyze the o- hydroxylation of a broad spectrum of environmentally related contaminants into their corresponding o- diphenols. This review covers the latest advancement regarding the exploitation of these enzymes for sustainable oxidation of phenolic compounds in wastewater, and suggests a way forward.

Keywords: biocatalysts; horseradish peroxidase; laccase; phenolic pollutants; sustainable oxidation; tyrosinase (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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