Potentialities of a membrane reactor with laccase grafted membranes for the enzymatic degradation of phenolic compounds in water

This paper describes the degradation of phenolic compounds by laccases from Trametes versicolor in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR). The enzymatic membranes were prepared by grafting laccase on a gelatine layer previously deposited onto α-alumina tubular membranes. The 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) was selected from among the three different phenolic compounds tested (guaiacol, 4-chlorophenol and DMP) to study the performance of the EMR in dead end configuration. At the lowest feed substrate concentration tested (100 mg·L-1), consumption increased with flux (up to 7.9 × 103 mg·h-1·m-2 at 128 L·h-1·m-2), whereas at the highest substrate concentration (500 mg·L-1), it was shown that the reaction was limited by the oxygen content.