Integrated membrane packed enzymatic column for the removal of atrazine in wastewater: Experimental, kinetics, breakthrough curves analysis and applicability in real wastewater

Abstract

The current study explored the performance of a packed bed biocatalytic column equipped with polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fiber membranes and Novoprime base 268 laccase (Lac) for the biotransformation of the recalcitrant herbicide, atrazine (ATZ). Column design parameters: feed concentration (5 mg L −1 ), flow rate (2 mL min −1 ) and bed height (14 cm) generated optimum membrane retention (MR) in the fixed bed. A standalone MR system attained >50 % of ATZ retention with a maximum capacity of 170.2 mg g −1 at bed service time of 559 min. Under optimized conditions (50 mg dosage, 5 mg L −1 solution concentration at 25 °C) 66 % degradation efficiency was observed in the laccase-assisted conversion within 24 h. PES-Laccase (PES-Lac) biocatalyst improved the overall degradation efficiency to 86 %, exhibited simple regeneration and satisfactory operational reusability, retaining 46 % activity in the sixth cycle. Overall, the work demonstrated the potential of PES-Lac biocatalytic system to selectively bioremediate ATZ and provided a detailed understanding of the factors influencing its efficiency for applicability in water reclamation. • The removal of atrazine, was investigated in an integrated biocatalytic system (membrane retention + biodegradation). • The incorporation of Novoprime base 268 laccase improved ATZ conversion. • Enzymatic membrane reactor showed higher stability and suitable biocatalyst regeneration. • Effective removal of atrazine present in a complex real matrix (river water) was demonstrated.