Enzymatic approach for bioremediation of effluent from pulp and paper industry by thermo alkali stable laccase from Bacillus tequilensis SN4

Treatments of industrial effluent/s by enzymes offer significant advantage over the use of microorganisms. However they have not been explored for the bioremediation of effluent from pulp and paper industry. This may be because of the less availability of lignolytic enzymes which can be active/stable under extreme environmental conditions that are present in effluent treatment plant of pulp and paper mills. In present study use of thermoalkali stable laccase from Bacillus tequilensis SN4 has been explored for the bioremediation of paper mill effluent. Under standardized conditions significant reduction in various parameters , color 83%, BOD 82%, COD 77%, phenol content 62%, lignin content 74%, TDS 28% and TSS 34%, was achieved. Major advantage was that treatment time was only 4h, much less than the bioremediation reported with the use of microorganisms, which is usually four to five days. Results indicate that SN4 laccase is very suitable to develop a process for the effective bioremediation of effluent from pulp and paper industry.