Hazardous waste treatment using fungus enters marketplace
When the announcement was made eight years ago that a common fungus had been found that could degrade a variety of environmental pollutants, the news stirred interest in the scientific community, the private sector, and the general public. Here was the promise of a new technology that might be effective and economical in treating hazardous waste, especially the most recalcitrant of toxic pollutants. Today, commercialization is beginning amid a mixture of optimism and skepticism. The organism in question is white rot fungus, or Phanerochaete chrysosporium, and it belongs to a family of woodrotting fungi common all over North America. The fungi secrete enzymes that break down lignin in wood to carbon dioxide and water--a process called mineralization. These lignin-degrading enzymes are not very discriminating, however. The white rot fungi have been shown to degrade such materials as DDT, the herbicide (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4,5-T), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), pentachlorophenol (PCP), creosote, coal tars, and heavy fuels, in many cases mineralizing these pollutants to a significant extent.
- OSTI ID:
- 6190949
- Journal Information:
- Chemical and Engineering News; (United States), Vol. 71:28; ISSN 0009-2347
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Biodegradation of pentachlorophenol by the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium
Biodegradation of pentachlorophenol by the white rot fungus phanerochaete chrysosporium
Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
BIODEGRADATION
COAL TAR
CREOSOTE
DDT
FUNGI
GROWTH
HERBICIDES
NITRO COMPOUNDS
SOILS
DECONTAMINATION
COMMERCIALIZATION
ENZYMES
LIGNIN
MINERALIZATION
REMEDIAL ACTION
TOXIC MATERIALS
AROMATICS
CARBOHYDRATES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
DECOMPOSITION
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
INSECTICIDES
MATERIALS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PESTICIDES
PLANTS
POLYSACCHARIDES
PROTEINS
SACCHARIDES
TAR
540220* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology