Kunle Okaiyeto

Bioflocculant production by a consortium of Streptomyces and Cellulomonas species and media optimization via surface response model

Species of actinobacteria previously isolated from Tyume River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and identified by 16S rDNA sequence as Cellulomonas and Streptomyces species were evaluated as a consortium for the production of bioflocculant. Sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride were the nutritional sources which supported optimal production of bioflocculant resulting in flocculation activities of 91%, 82% and 78% respectively. Response surface design revealed sucrose, peptone and magnesium chloride as critical media components following Plackett-Burman design, while the central composite design showed optimum concentration of the critical nutritional source as 16.0 g/L (sucrose), 1.5 g/L (peptone) and 1.6g/L (magnesium chloride) yielding optimal flocculation activity of 98.9% and bioflocculant yield of 4.45 g/L. FTIR spectrometry of the bioflocculant indicated the presence of carboxyl, hydroxyl and amino groups, typical for heteropolysaccharide, while SEM imaging revealed an interwoven clump-like structure. The molecular weight distribution of the constituents of the bioflocculants ranged 494.81-18,300.26 Da thus, an indication of heterogeneity in composition. Additionally, the chemical analyses of the purified bioflocculant revealed the presence of polysaccharides and proteins with neutral sugar, amino sugar and uronic acids in the following concentration: 5.7 mg, 9.3mg and 17.8 mg per 100mg. The high flocculation activity of the bioflocculant suggests commercial potential.

Characterization of a Bioflocculant Produced by a Consortium of Halomonas sp. Okoh and Micrococcus sp. Leo

The physicochemical and flocculating properties of a bioflocculant produced by a bacterial consortium composed of Halomonas sp. Okoh and Micrococcus sp. Leo were investigated. The purified bioflocculant was cation and pH dependent, and optimally flocculated kaolin clay suspension at a dosage of 0.1 mg/mL. The flocculating activity of the bioflocculant was stimulated in the presence of Ca2+, Mn2+, Al3+ and had a wide pH range of 2–10, with the highest flocculating activity of 86% at pH 8. The bioflocculant was thermostable and retained more than 70% of its flocculating activity after being heated at 80 °C for 30 min. Thermogravimetric analyses revealed a partial thermal decomposition of the biofloculant at 400 °C. The infrared spectrum showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino moieties as functional groups. The bioflocculant produced by the bacterial consortium appears to hold promising alternative to inorganic and synthetic organic flocculants that are widely used in wastewater treatment.

Characterization of a Bioflocculant (MBF-UFH) Produced by Bacillus sp. AEMREG7

A bioflocculant named MBF-UFH produced by a Bacillus species isolated from sediment samples of Algoa Bay of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa was characterized. The bacterial identification was through 16S rDNA sequencing; nucleotide sequences were deposited in GenBank as Bacillus sp. AEMREG7 with Accession Number KP659187. The production of the bioflocculant was observed to be closely associated with cell growth. The bioflocculant had the highest flocculating activity of 83.2% after 72 h of cultivation, and approximately 1.6 g of purified MBF-UFH was recovered from 1 L of fermentation broth. Its chemical analyses indicated that it is a glycoprotein composed of polysaccharide (76%) and protein (14%). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that it consisted of hydroxyl, amide, carboxyl and methoxyl as the functional moieties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the amorphous structure of MBF-UFH and flocculated kaolin clay particles. The maximum flocculating activity of 92.6% against kaolin clay suspension was achieved at 0.3 mg/mL over pH ranges of 3–11 with the peak flocculating rate at pH 8 in the presence of MgCl2. The bioflocculant retained high flocculating activity of 90% after heating at 100 °C for 1 h. MBF-UFH appears to have immense potential as an alternative to conventional chemical flocculants.

Bacillus toyonensis Strain AEMREG6, a Bacterium Isolated from South African Marine Environment Sediment Samples Produces a Glycoprotein Bioflocculant

A bioflocculant-producing bacteria, isolated from sediment samples of a marine environment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa demonstrated a flocculating activity above 60% for kaolin clay suspension. Analysis of the 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) nucleotide sequence of the isolate in the GenBank database showed 99% similarity to Bacillus toyonensis strain BCT-7112 and it was deposited in the GenBank as Bacillus toyonensis strain AEMREG6 with accession number KP406731. The bacteria produced a bioflocculant (REG-6) optimally in the presence of glucose and NH4NO3 as the sole carbon and nitrogen source, respectively, initial medium pH of 5 and Ca2+ as the cation of choice. Chemical analysis showed that purified REG-6 was a glycoprotein mainly composed of polysaccharide (77.8%) and protein (11.5%). It was thermally stable and had strong flocculating activity against kaolin suspension over a wide range of pH values (3–11) with a relatively low dosage requirement of 0.1 mg/mL in the presence of Mn2+. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amide groups preferred for flocculation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that bridging was the main flocculation mechanism of REG-6. The outstanding flocculating performance of REG-6 holds great potential to replace the hazardous chemical flocculants currently used in water treatment.

Evaluation of the flocculation potential and characterization of bioflocculant produced by Micrococcus sp. Leo

Bioflocculants are safe, biodegradable and environmentally friendly biopolymeric materials. These merits portend it as preferred alternative to inorganic and organic synthetic polymeric flocculants. The culture conditions optimal for the production of bioflocculant by Micrococcus sp. Leo with subsequent evaluation of the properties of the produced compound were investigated. Optimum culture conditions for bioflocculant production included 2% (vol/vol) inoculum size, incubation temperature of 28°C, agitation speed of 160 rpm and initial pH of 4.0. Glucose and (NH4)2SO4 and Al3+ were the best as sole carbon, nitrogen and cation sources, respectively. The purified bioflocculant flocculated kaolin suspension optimally at a dosage of 0.2 mg/mL following jar test, and flocculating activity of about 70% was retained after heat treatment of 100°C. Chemical analysis showed that the bioflocculant was composed of 28.4% polysaccharide, 2.6% protein and 9.7%. uronic acid. Thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the bioflocculant could not decompose completely at 400°C. FTIR spectra revealed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups as the main functional groups. The bioflocculant produced by Micrococcus sp. Leo appears to hold promise as an alternative to conventional flocculants commonly used in water/wastewater treatment.

Implications for public health demands alternatives to inorganic and synthetic flocculants: bioflocculants as important candidates

Chemical flocculants are generally used in drinking water and wastewater treatment due to their efficacy and cost effectiveness. However, the question of their toxicity to human health and environmental pollution has been a major concern. In this article, we review the application of some chemical flocculants utilized in water treatment, and bioflocculants as a potential alternative to these chemical flocculants. To the best of our knowledge, there is no report in the literature that provides an up‐to‐date review of the relevant literature on both chemical flocculants and bioflocculants in one paper. As a result, this review paper comprehensively discussed the various chemical flocculants used in water treatment, including their advantages and disadvantages. It also gave insights into bioflocculants production, challenges, various factors influencing their flocculating efficiency and their industrial applications, as well as future research directions including improvement of bioflocculants yields and flocculating activity, and production of cation‐independent bioflocculants. The molecular biology and synthesis of bioflocculants are also discussed.

Evaluation of flocculating performance of a thermostable bioflocculant produced by marine Bacillus sp.

ABSTRACT This study assessed the bioflocculant (named MBF-W7) production potential of a bacterial isolate obtained from Algoa Bay, Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acids gene sequence analysis showed 98% sequence similarity to Bacillus licheniformis strain W7. Optimum culture conditions for MBF-W7 production include 5% (v/v) inoculum size, maltose and NH4NO3 as carbon and nitrogen sources of choice, medium pH of 6 as the initial pH of the growth medium. Under these optimal conditions, maximum flocculating activity of 94.9% was attained after 72 h of cultivation. Chemical composition analyses showed that the purified MBF-W7 was a glycoprotein which was predominantly composed of polysaccharides 73.7% (w/w) and protein 6.2% (w/w). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and amino groups as the main functional groups identified in the bioflocculant molecules. Thermogravimetric analyses showed the thermal decomposition profile of MBF-W7. Scanning electron microscopy imaging revealed that bridging played an important role in flocculation. MBF-W7 exhibited excellent flocculating activity for kaolin clay suspension at 0.2 mg/ml over a wide pH range of 3–11; with the maximal flocculation rate of 85.8% observed at pH 3 in the presence of Mn2+. It maintained and retained high flocculating activity of over 70% after heating at 100°C for 60 min. MBF-W7 showed good turbidity removal potential (86.9%) and chemical oxygen demand reduction efficiency (75.3%) in Tyume River. The high flocculating rate of MBF-W7 makes it an attractive candidate to replace chemical flocculants utilized in water treatment.

Characterization and Flocculating Properties of a Biopolymer Produced by Halomonas sp. Okoh.

The flocculating efficiency and physiochemical properties of purified bioflocculant produced by Halomonas sp. Okoh were investigated. Approximately 1.213 g/L of bioflocculant was recovered after fermentation under predetermined ambient conditions. Jar test experimentation revealed optimum bioflocculant concentration as 0.2 mg/mL with flocculation activity of 66.1%. The thermostable bioflocculant retained high flocculation activity after heat treatment at 100 °C for 30 minutes; flocculation activity of 74% was achieved. Chemical analysis showed that the bioflocculant was composed of sugar (26.5%), protein (2.64%), and uronic acid (13.3%). The Fourier infrared spectroscopy spectrum of the purified bioflocculant revealed the presence of hydroxyl and carboxylic functional groups. Thermogravimetric analyses showed a varied decomposition step, thus, an indication of varied composition. Scanning electron micrograph revealed the amorphous structure of the bioflocculant. These results suggest potential applicability of the bioflocculant produced by Halomonas sp. Okoh industrially.

A Marine Bacterium, Bacillus sp. Isolated from the Sediment Samples of Algoa Bay in South Africa Produces a Polysaccharide-Bioflocculant

Bioflocculants mediate the removal of suspended particles from solution and the efficiency of flocculation is dependent on the characteristics of the flocculant. Apart from the merits of biodegradability and harmlessness, bioflocculants could be viable as industrially relevant flocculants as they are a renewable resource. Additionally, the shortcomings associated with the conventionally used flocculants such as aluminium salts and acrylamide polymers, which include dementia and cancer, highlight more the need to use bioflocculants as an alternative. Consequently, in this study a marine sediment bacterial isolate was screened for bioflocculant production. Basic local alignment search tools (BLAST) analysis of 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) sequence of the bacterial isolate showed 98% similarity to Bacillus thuringiensis MR-R1. The bacteria produced bioflocculant optimally with inoculum size (4% v/v) (85%), glucose (85.65%) and mixed nitrogen source (urea, ammonium chloride and yeast extract) (75.9%) and the divalent cation (Ca2+) (62.3%). Under optimal conditions, a maximum flocculating activity of over 85% was attained after 60 h of cultivation. The purified polysaccharide-bioflocculant flocculated optimally at alkaline pH 12 (81%), in the presence of Mn2+ (73%) and Ca2+ (72.8%). The high flocculation activity shown indicates that the bioflocculant may contend favourably as an alternative to the conventionally used flocculants in water treatment.