Waste treatment applications of enzymes: opportunities and obstacles

The use of enzymes in waste treatment processes has been proposed by a number of investigators. However, most of this work has focused on demonstrating the disappearance of target pollutants and has not considered the engineering issues that will ultimately determine the process feasibility. The conditions that occur in most waste treatment situations are very different from the conditions that exist in chemical manufacturing processes, so the technical concerns in implementing enzyme technology cannot be extrapolated directly from experience in the manufacturing sector. The waste treatment situations that may be appropriate for enzyme technology are presented, along with criteria for enzymes that may be of near-term applicability. Previous work on the waste treatment applications of enzymes is reviewed and the technical issues that must be considered in feasibility determinations are discussed.