Sustainability Solutions Research Lab, Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, Egyetem str. 10, Veszprém, 8200, Hungary.
Environmental Research and Studies Center, University of Babylon, Al-Hillah, Babylon, Iraq.
Sci Rep. 2023 Jul 24;13(1):11933. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-38821-3.
In this study, pomegranate peels (PPs) as an abundant fruit processing waste was used to produce cost-effective, eco-friendly, and high-quality activated carbon. The produced carbon (fossil free activated carbon) was used for immobilizing laccase to remove a range of emerging pollutants namely diclofenac, amoxicillin, carbamazepine, and ciprofloxacin from water and wastewater. The loaded activated carbon by laccase (LMPPs) and the unloaded one (MPPs) were characterized using advanced surface chemistry analysis techniques. MPPs was found to have a porous structure with a large surface area and an abundance of acidic functional groups. Laccase immobilization reduced surface area but added active degradation sites. The optimal immobilization parameters were determined as pH 4, 35 °C, and a laccase concentration of 2.5 mg/mL resulting in a 69.8% immobilization yield. The adsorption of the emerging pollutant onto MPPs is best characterized as a spontaneous endothermic process that adheres to the Langmuir isotherm and first-order kinetics. Using synergistic adsorption and enzymatic degradation, the target pollutants (50 mg/L) were eliminated in 2 h. In both water types, LMPPs outperformed MPPs. This study shows that pomegranate peels can effectively be harnessed as an enzyme carrier and adsorbent for the removal of emerging pollutants even from a complex sample matrix. The removal of contaminants from wastewater lasted five cycles, whereas it continued up to six cycles for water.
在这项研究中，石榴皮（PPs）作为一种丰富的水果加工废物，被用于生产具有成本效益、环保且高质量的活性炭。所生产的碳（无化石活性炭）用于固定漆酶，以去除水和废水中一系列新兴污染物，即双氯芬酸、阿莫西林、卡马西平和环丙沙星。用漆酶（LMPPs）负载的活性炭和未负载的活性炭（MPPs）通过先进的表面化学分析技术进行了表征。MPPs 具有多孔结构，表面积大，含有丰富的酸性官能团。漆酶固定化减少了表面积，但增加了活性降解位点。确定的最佳固定化参数为 pH4、35°C 和 2.5mg/mL 的漆酶浓度，固定化收率为 69.8%。新兴污染物在 MPPs 上的吸附最好用自发的吸热过程来描述，该过程符合 Langmuir 等温线和一级动力学。采用协同吸附和酶促降解，在 2 小时内即可消除 50mg/L 的目标污染物。在两种水样中，LMPPs 的性能均优于 MPPs。本研究表明，即使在复杂的样品基质中，石榴皮也可以有效地作为酶载体和吸附剂，用于去除新兴污染物。从废水中去除污染物的过程持续了五个周期，而在水中则持续了六个周期。
