Properties of bioflocculant-producing bacteria for high flocculating activity efficiency

A good bioflocculant-producing bacteria (BPB) was isolated from water sample collected from river sediment. This BPB was identified as Bacillus velezensis isolate JB7 based on 16S rDNA gene sequence and demonstrated maximum flocculating activity of 92.3% toward kaolin suspension compared to other 34 isolates. This isolate JB7 had a circular shape with an undulate colony edge, a smooth surface and creamy colour and it showed catalase-positive and oxidase-positive for biochemical characteristic. Scanning electron microscopy revealed morphological surface of isolated JB7 was rod-shaped structures. Energy dispersion X-ray indicated isolate JB7 contained higher contents of C (50.3 wt%) and O (29 wt%), lower levels of P (12.1 wt%) and Na (8.6 wt%). The effective BPB obtained from this study might play a significant role in increasing the flocculation performance and would be an alternative to the use of chemical flocculants for water and wastewater treatment. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Automated summary

A good bioflocculant-producing bacteria (BPB) named Bacillus velezensis JB7 was isolated from water sample collected from river sediment. It demonstrated high flocculating activity of 92.3% towards kaolin suspension and had rod-shaped structures. The effective BPB obtained from this study may serve as an alternative to chemical flocculants in water and wastewater treatment.