Team:TU-Munich/Project/Biodegradation

Biodegradation is defined as "a process by which microbial organisms transform or alter the structure of chemicals introduced into the environment" (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). We work with this concept by degrading or transforming noxious substances in waste water into non-hazardous compounds. These substances, such as antibiotics, hormones or pesticides are not removable by common waste water treatment plants, but there exist enzymes from natural catabolic mechanisms in different microorganisms to inactivate them. To utilize these enzymes we integrated them into a plant as a self-sustaining sedentary organism to create a functional water filter system. To illustrate this approach we chose three potent enzymes:

• The Erythromycin esterase, which degrades macrolides, a persistant group of antibiotics
• The Laccase BPUL, which degrades several noxious substances, for example the artificial hormone ethinyl estradiol, the main ingredient of contraception pills
• The Catechol-2,3-dioxygenase, catalyzing the degradation of aromatic pollutants, which occur in pesticides and insecticides

[Edens et al., 1984]

1. [Edens et al., 1984] Edens, L., Bom, I., Ledeboer, A. M., Maat, J., Toonen, M. Y., Visser, C., and Verrips, C. T. (1984). Synthesis and processing of the plant protein thaumatin in yeast. Cell, 37(2):629–33.