Biodegradation of Tetracycline and Caffeine by Trametes sp. Immobilized on Almond Shells

Pharmaceutical pollutants, due to their stability and resistance to common treatment methods, are a major environmental concern, negatively impacting aquatic ecosystems and human health with their presence in industrial and hospital effluents. This study investigates the removal of tetracycline and caffeine from wastewater using the white-rot fungus Trametes sp. under two conditions: without a substrate, achieving an average removal of ۵۳% of tetracycline at ۵, ۱۰, and ۱۵ ppm and ۵۲.۷% of caffeine at ۵ and ۱۰ ppm in ۲۰ days, and with almond shells as the substrate, which improved biodegradation efficiency, system stability, and reduced operational costs. The laccase enzyme produced by the fungus was responsible for ۶۰% of the drug removal, with the highest efficiencies observed using living Trametes sp. and almond shells—tetracycline removal reached ۱۰۰% at ۵ ppm by day ۶, ۹۰% at ۱۰ ppm by day ۱۰, and ۸۴% at ۱۵ ppm by day ۱۲, while caffeine removal achieved ۱۰۰% at ۵ ppm by day ۶ and ۸۰% at ۱۰ ppm by day ۸, with the almond substrate outperforming the free fungus despite decreased rates at higher concentrations—highlighting laccase’s key role with peak activity in molasses and glucose/yeast media, offering a sustainable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly technology for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment

کلیدواژه ها:

pharmaceutical pollutants ، wastewater treatment ، Trametes sp. ، almond substrate ، biodegradation ، laccase enzyme