Wastewater enzymes offer a greener alternative to chemical and physical processes for treating wastewater. They can help reduce energy use, sludge volume and BOD, COD and odor levels while providing clean, potable water.
Enzymes are efficient biocatalysts that work under mild reaction conditions. They can corrupt specific pollutants without influencing other parts of the effluent.
- Enhanced Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency refers to using less energy to get the same work done. It’s one of the easiest ways to reduce energy waste, combat climate change, clean the air we breathe, help families meet their budgets, and keep businesses profitable.
Enzymes are a powerful biocatalyst that can significantly reduce the amount of energy needed for certain reactions. They have specific active sites that bind to the substrates they are designed to break down and can reduce the activation energy for those substrates by several orders of magnitude. This enables enzymes to biodegrade more pollutants in less time than plants or traditional chemical catalysts.
However, a number of factors limit the effectiveness of energy efficiency strategies. Hidden costs can obscure the benefits of energy-efficient technologies, such as a higher upfront cost or lack of available charging infrastructure. Many utility companies offer financial incentives to encourage the adoption of efficient products and appliances.
The most promising approach to tackling resistance pollutants in wastewater is the use of microbial-based enzymatic processes. These processes are capable of breaking down a variety of organic micropollutants, including oil, grease, and various plastics. By increasing the diversity of these microorganisms and optimizing their niches, researchers can make the most of their abilities to degrade resistant pollutants. This will improve the overall performance of wastewater treatment plants and reduce energy consumption.
- Reduced Sludge
In order to achieve an effective wastewater treatment, the pollutants present in the wastewater must be transformed into innocuous end-products or be effectively separated and drawn off as side streams. This is achieved through various physicochemical processes like chemical precipitation, coagulation and flocculation. However, these physicochemical methods have numerous limitations and operational expenses due to the utilized chemicals.
Enzymes are biocatalysts that act on specific pollutants in a targeted way. For example, proteases can break down complex proteins into simple molecules, while fatty acid esterases can reduce fats, oils and greases. The advantage of this approach is that by focusing on a targeted group of pollutants, less energy is used as well as the sludge volume is reduced.
Furthermore, some sludge reduction techniques exploit the ability of microorganisms to reuse carbonaceous compounds and nutrients for their own cryptic growth. These reutilisation processes are often carried out through cell lysis, and the release of intracellular contents (including carbonaceous substances and nutrients) into the liquid phase enables an overall reduction of sludge volumes.
Oxidative enzymes such as oxygenases and peroxidases also have the potential to mitigate phenolic, aromatic and inorganic contaminants by oxidative degradation. The resulting transformation products are usually either less toxic or more readily biodegradable than the parent compound. This demonstrates the strong potential of these biological approaches to improve sludge management and reduce sludge production.
- Reduced Chemical Use
Unlike chemical and physical methods that utilize chemicals to remove contaminants, enzymes target specific pollutants. They break down these contaminants at a microscopic level and convert them into inert, harmless materials. By doing so, they reduce or eliminate their toxicity, making wastewater safe to use again. In addition, these enzymes can be immobilized to make the process even more efficient and sustainable.
The different physicochemical methods used for treating wastewater (such as chemical precipitation, coagulation, flocculation and floatation) require large quantities of chemicals and are not environmentally friendly. However, enzymatic treatments have the potential to significantly reduce the amount of chemicals needed because they target specific pollutants.
Oxidative enzymes such as oxygenases, peroxidases and polyphenol oxidases can be used to treat wastewater. These enzymes catalyze oxidation reactions that transform phenolic, aromatic or inorganic contaminants into low molecular weight compounds that are biodegradable and less toxic. They also have a wide substrate scope, and high regio- and stereoselectivity.
In the future, enzyme-based water treatment will become more widespread. The demand for this technology will rise, as it is a more sustainable option than traditional chemical treatments. A company named Pharem is working to develop enzymes that can break down drug residues in sewage water, which will allow companies to recycle the water for drinking and agriculture. We hope this will lead to cleaner and more sustainable work environments in the future.
- Improved Environmental Impact
In the modern world, fresh potable water is becoming increasingly scarce, while at the same time the amount of wastewater produced in industrial operations is increasing. Currently, the majority of wastewater is discharged into the environment without proper treatment, contributing to eutrophication and other environmental problems. This is why the development of efficient and green wastewater treatments is important.
A number of innovative techniques are now available for the efficient treatment of wastewater, and one of these is enzyme-based technology. This approach uses special molecules that are able to break down and absorb different pollutants, leaving the clean water behind. This method has several advantages over traditional chemical processes, including the ability to treat larger volumes of wastewater and reduced environmental impact.
Many industrial waste streams contain phenols (phenols and their salts), which are toxic to humans and plants. They can also cause various environmental problems, such as distortion of plant growth and algal bloom. Enzymes can be used to biodegrade phenols in wastewater and reduce their toxic effects. They have specific active sites that bind to the pollutants and reduce the activation energy required for their degradation. In addition, they can be immobilized to create an effective biocatalyst and reduce the amount of enzyme needed to achieve a similar result.
Metals are another common pollutant found in industrial wastewater. They can cause a range of environmental problems, such as distortion of plant growth, toxicity of water for aquatic organisms and even lead to human health issues, such as respiratory disorders. In order to reduce the toxicity of metal-contaminated wastewater, oxidoreductases can be immobilized to produce effective biocatalysts.