What compound inside biocoagulants/bioflocculants is contributing the most to the coagulation and flocculation processes?

Biocoagulants and bioflocculants are alternative items that can be used to substitute the utilization of commonchemical coagulants and flocculants. Biocoagulants/bioflocculants can be extracted from animals, microorganisms, and plants. Moreover, biocoagulants/bioflocculants have specific characteristics that contribute to the coagulation and flocculation processes. The active compounds inside biocoagulants/bioflocculants vary and correspond to the specific working mechanisms, including charge neutralization, sweep coagulation, adsorption, bridging, and patch flocculation. This review paper summarizes the characteristics of biocoagulants/ bioflocculants from different sources and its performance in treating various pollutants. Furthermore, this paper discusses the most contributing compounds and functional groups of biocoagulants/bioflocculants that can be related to their working mechanisms. Several functional groups and compounds in biocoagulants/ bioflocculants are highlighted in this review article, as well as the correlation between the highlighted groups/ compounds to the aforementioned coagulation-flocculation mechanisms. In addition, current knowledge gaps in the study of biocoagulants/bioflocculants and future approaches that may serve as research directions are also emphasized. This review article is expected to shed information on the characteristics of biocoagulants/ bioflocculants, which may then become a focus in the optimization to obtain higher performance in future appli-cation of coagulation-flocculation processes. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Biocoagulants and bioflocculants are extracted from animals, microorganisms, and plants, with specific characteristics that contribute to the treatment of pollutants. The active compounds in them have different working mechanisms, including charge neutralization, sweep coagulation, adsorption, bridging, and patch flocculation.