Production of ligninolytic activities when treating paper pulp effluents by Trametes versicolor

Abstract

In this work, the ability of Trametes versicolor to decolorize the effluents from the alkaline cooking of cereal straw produced at a paper and paper pulp making plant is studied. Enzymatic activities related to the metabolism of lignin during fungal treatment have also been evaluated. The results that have been attained show the necessity of a carbon source for the progress of the decolorization process, which can reach color elimination values higher than 70%. The study of the enzymatic activities shows the production (starting from the first hours of treatment) of laccase activity much higher than that obtained under the same conditions in synthetic growth media. There is also a clear relationship between the effluent concentration in the medium and the laccase activity. In the decolorization media, manganese-dependent peroxidase activity has also been detected, when SO 4Mn is added to those media. No LiP activity was detected in all the conditions assayed.