A combined chemical + enzymatic method to remove selected aromatics from aqueous streams

Aromatics are major pollutants found in aqueous environments and in sediments. While there are many chemical and biochemical processes to remove and/or destroy these contaminants, they have to be considered in light of the economics and the time-scales for treatment. We describe our initial work on a hybrid chemical + enzymatic technique to remove aromatics from aqueous stream. The aromatic is first converted to the corresponding phenol through classical Fenton type chemistry involving catalysis by Fe(II). The phenol is subsequently polymerized through an enzymatic mechanism, using horseradish peroxidase as the oxidative enzyme. The polymer is insoluble in water and can be easily recovered. In addition, such phenolic polymers are useful products with varied applications in coatings and resin technologies. Thus, the pollutants can be eventually converted to useful products