28 REMOVAL OF PHENOL FROM INDUSTRIAL
WASTEWATERS USING ARTHROMYCES RAMOSUS
PEROXIDASE IN A CONTINUOUS FLOW SYSTEM
M.S. Ibrahim, Assistant Lecturer
H.I. Ali, Professor
Faculty of Engineering
Ain Shams University
Cairo, Egypt
K.E. Taylor, Professor
Faculty of Science
University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4
N. Biswas, Professor
J. K. Bewtra, Professor
Faculty of Engineering
University of Windsor
Windsor, Ontario Canada, N9B 3P4
ABSTRACT
Various aromatic compounds, in particular phenols and aromatic amines, are present in wastewaters of numerous industries such as coal conversion, petroleum refining, organic chemicals,
and dyes. Most of these compounds are toxic and some have been determined to be human carcinogens; therefore, the removal of such compounds from industrial aqueous effluent is of great
practical significance.
An enzymatic method for the removal of phenols from industrial aqueous effluent has been developed in the past several years. In this method, peroxidase enzymes catalyze the oxidation of
phenol with hydrogen peroxide, generating phenoxy radicals. These radicals diffuse from the active site of the enzyme into solution and react nonenzymatically to eventually form higher
oligomers and polymers which can be removed from wastewater by sedimentation or filtration.
In this study, Arthromyces ramosus peroxidase (ARP) was applied to remove 1.0 mM phenol
in synthetic wastewater in a continuous flow system. The system consisted of a mixing tank
where hydrogen peroxide was added to the mixture of phenol, enzyme, and polyethylene glycol
(PEG) to initiate the reaction. A plug flow reactor where the reaction takes place was followed
by a flocculation tank where the alum was added, and finally the polymers formed were settled
in a sedimentation tank and removed from the system.
The removal efficiency of the system was dependent on the enzyme dose, molar ratio between
hydrogen peroxide and phenol, pH, and PEG concentration. These parameters were optimized
first using batch experiments, and then applied to the continuous experiments.
INTRODUCTION
Phenolic compounds are priority pollutants which occur in the effluent of many industries such
as coal conversion, wood preservation, pulp and paper mills, metal casting, petroleum refining,
resins, plastics, iron and steel, textile and organic chemical manufacturing.' The majority of phe-
52nd Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, 1997. Ann Arbor Press, Chelsea, Michigan 48118. Printed in
U.S.A.
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