| Abstrak/Abstract |
Laccase has a promising potential to be used as a bioremediation agent. In the present study, crude laccase produced by Trametes polyzona H18 isolated from Batam Botanical Garden, Batam Island was successfully immobilized on activated carbon and tested for Reactive Black 5 (RB5) dye decolorization. Activated carbon has been known as an excellent adsorbent and has widely used due to its unique characteristics and large adsorption capacity. Activated carbon was made from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) through pyrolysis process and modified by covalent binding using 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APTS) in variations of 5, 10, and 15% (v/v). Results showed that the highest immobilized laccase-activated carbon yield was 50.44% obtained by activated carbon modified by 15% (v/v) of APTS. The immobilized laccase-activated carbon improved the RB5 decolorization rate by 87.54 % compared to free laccase, which were only 35.52 % at 4 h of reaction time. These preliminary results suggested that immobilized laccase on activated carbon can be potentially developed for large scale bioremediation of other toxic dyes. |
