Abstract
A bioflocculant-producing bacterium isolated from seawater was identified based on 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequence to have 99% similarity to that of Halomonas sp. Au160H and the nucleotide sequence was deposited as Halomonas sp. OKOH (Genbank accession number is HQ875722). Influences of carbon source, nitrogen source, salt ions and pH on flocculating activity were investigated. The bioflocculant was optimally produced when glucose (87% flocculating activity) and urea (88% flocculating activity) were used as sources of carbon and nitrogen, respectively. Also, initial pH of 7.0 and Ca2+ supported optimal production of the bioflocculant with flocculating activities of 87% respectively. Chemical analyses revealed the bioflocculant to be a polysaccharide.
Highlights
Flocculants are used for the aggregation of colloidal substances and cellular materials and are widely applied in different industrial processes, including wastewater treatment, downstream processing, food and fermentation processes [1,2]
In this paper we report of the bioflocculant production potential of Halomonas sp
The growth pattern, flocculating activity and pH variation of the culture broth were as shown in. He et al [3] reported a decrease in flocculating activity of a bioflocculant produced by Corynebacterium glutamicum which was attributed to a decrease in the molecular weight of the polymer when it was subjected to protease hydrolysis
Summary
Flocculants are used for the aggregation of colloidal substances and cellular materials and are widely applied in different industrial processes, including wastewater treatment, downstream processing, food and fermentation processes [1,2]. Many microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, have been reported to produce extracellular polymeric substances, such as polysaccharides, functional proteins and glycoproteins, which function as bioflocculants [3,6].
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