DECOLORISATION OF TEXTILE DYES USING IMMOBILISED PPO FROM TOMATO PEEL AND PULPSr. Sandra Horta, Agnel Arul John and S. Parijatham KanchanaAbstract The textile industry is considered second only to agriculture as the biggest polluter of clean water. Untreated dyes cause chemical and biological changes in our aquatic system, which threaten species of fish and aquatic plants causing water pollution. In this study an effort has been made to use plant polyphenol oxidase from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) peel and pulp, for the treatment of dyes used in textile industries. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzyme was extracted from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) peel and pulp and immobilized by two methods: Alginate method (entrapment) and Celite 545 (diatomaceous earth, 30â80 mesh) (Adsorption type). PPO enzyme stability was increased after immobilization. The immobilized and free enzymes were employed for the decolorization of textile dyes. The dye solutions were prepared in the concentration of 150 μg/mL in distilled water and incubated with free and immobilized tomato peel and pulp PPO for one hour. The percent decolorization was calculated by taking untreated dye solution as control. Immobilized PPO was significantly more effective in decolorizing the dyes as compared to free enzyme. |