Production of laccase from Trichoderma harzianum and its application in dye decolourisation

The textile industry generates huge volumes of waste water and effluent containing dyes that are recalcitrant to treatment. This study focuses on the production of laccase enzyme from the fungus Trichoderma harzianum under optimized pH and temperature using guaiacol as substrate. The ideal temperature and pH were found to be 45 °C and 5 respectively for the production of the enzyme. The enzyme was partially purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation and dialysis after which the activity of the enzyme was calculated. This partially purified enzyme was used to decolourize some of the commonly used dyes in textile industry namely congo red, methylene blue, crystal violet and malachite green. It was observed that the enzyme showed promise in bringing about decolourisation to an extent of 97% thereby suggesting the potential role of the laccase enzyme in the remediation of dyes.