Conventional water and wastewater treatment technologies have limitations when addressing emerging micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting chemicals. Our recent studies demonstrated that enzyme catalyzed oxidative coupling processes (ECOCP) may provide an alternative approach to effectively remove micropollutants from water. ECOCP involves catalysis by enzymes having specific binding capacities for both the micropollutants and the oxidants (H2O2, O2), so that the processes are facile to deal with low-concentration contaminants, requiring less oxidant and energy input. Our data help to understand the mechanisms involved in micropollutants transformation, removal and toxicity reduction, as well as the influence of relevant environmental conditions such as pH and dissolved organic matter. Possible means to incorporate ECOCP in conventional water/wastewater treatment procedures and the potential of using biotechnology to construct enzyme variants with improved efficiency for target chemicals will be discussed.

Enzyme catalyzed oxidative coupling processes: An alternative scheme to address emerging micropollutants in water

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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