Biodegradation of cyanide to ammonia and carbon dioxide by an industrially valuable enzyme from the newly isolated Enterobacter zs.

The biodetoxification of cyanide-rich wastewater has been suggested as an appropriate technique due to its environmental friendliness and cost effectiveness. In this research, Enterobacter zs that was newly isolated from cyanide-polluted wastewater was selected to catalyze cyanide via an enzymatic mechanism. Enzyme was purified and its activity was also determined by ammonia assay. Subsequently, the operational procedure was optimized to enhance cyanide biodegradation at variable pH values, temperatures and cyanide concentrations using response surface methodology (RSM). The results revealed that the interactions between pH and temperature, as well as those between pH and cyanide concentration, were significant, and the concentration of cyanide in a 650 mg.L-1 solution was decreased by 73%. According to this study, it can be proposed that due to its higher activity level compared with those of similar enzymes, this enzyme can prove useful in enzymatic biodegradation of cyanide which is a promising approach in the treatment of industrial effluent.