Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

BIOREMEDIATION OF DYES USING IMMOBILIZED LACCASE ENZYME

A.M. Kane and K.S. Chitnis

Abstract

Increased use of synthetic dyes in industries and small-scale laboratories causes water pollutants to rise, which impacts the ecosystem. Because of their high efficiency, selectivity, and environment-friendly reactions, laccase can be very helpful in wastewater treatments. This study aimed to extract and purify laccase from different sources to test its efficiency for decolorization of dyes commonly used in college labs and thus help in bioremediation at the source. Among various sources of laccase enzyme, the P75 fraction of Lemon peel extract showed the highest laccase enzyme activity (0.007 Units/min/ml), followed by the P75 fraction of Pomegranate (0.005 units/min/ml). The enzyme was immobilized using the sodium alginate calcium chloride method. The highest percent decolorization was observed by Pomegranate enzyme extract (87.5%) in 0.025% Crystal violet. P75 fraction of extracts of Pomegranate, Sweet lime, Lemon, and Button Mushroom, when combined in an immobilized form, showed 32.53% dye decolorization of a mixture of three dyes: Safranin, Crystal Violet, and Methylene blue. When tested singly, Crystal Violet showed the highest decolorization of 86.67% by the immobilized mixture of laccase from all sources. The mean percentage decolorization of dyes by immobilized enzyme beads was significantly different as compared to decolorization by enzyme blank (Student’s t-test; n=10, p<0.001). Kits can be made of immobilized laccase enzyme beads to be used in school and college laboratories for the bioremediation of dyes at the source.