An industrial lignin recovered from a paper factory effluent was characterized and treated in buffered media under three different conditions. The first system contained only partially purified laccase produced by Fusarium proliferatum. The other two were supplemented with 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) or 1-hydroxylbenzotriazole (1-HBT) as mediators. During incubation the lignin remained solubilized and its spectral and chromatographic characteristics depended on time and conditions. UV-vis spectrum of lignin recovered from the first system showed a strong increase at the outset of incubation, reflecting the introduction of new functional groups in the polymer. No changes in its molecular mass distribution pattern were detected. Longer incubation produced minor alterations in its UV-vis spectrum, together with a polymerization in the recovered substrate, appearing as a new peak around 200 kDa. Lignin recovered from the laccase-ABTS system showed an intensive depolymerization together with a minor polymerization also in the high molecular mass fraction (200kDa). That lignin sample was soluble under acid conditions. These sharp modifications contrasted with those detected in the lignin incubated with 1-HBT as mediator. Treating industrial lignin by these simple procedures rapidly enhances the technological potential of this paper-mill byproduct. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.