부산대학교 도서관

Tannery industries widely employ conventional processes which generate a huge amount of pollutants. Hence, pursuit of an efficient and cost-effective greener production processes is under way. The objective of this study was to develop an eco-friendly alternative to the traditional physico-chemical processes in tannery industries, by using alkaline protease isolated from Bacillus pseudofirmusSVB1. The isolated protease was used for dehairing goatskin and its efficiency was compared with that of other commercially used alkaline proteases. Scanning electron microscope studies of de-haired goatskin revealed that the epidermis was completely removed and the uprooted hair left empty follicles in the skin. Mechanical properties of the dehaired skin also established the superiority of this enzyme. A parallel attempt was made using this enzyme as a tool to facilitate bioremediation. The tannery effluents were treated using both crude and partially purified form of this protease. A significant drop in the levels of total solid, chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand was observed in comparison to other commercially used alkaline proteases.