Bioflocculant produced by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Bioflocculants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii were investigated under axenic conditions. C. reinhardtii was found to produce significant amounts of bioflocculants. Flocculating activity by C. reinhardtii began in the linear phase of growth and continued until the end of the stationary phase. The highest flocculating efficiency of the culture broth was 97.06%. The purified C. reinhardtii bioflocculant was composed of 42.1% (w/w) proteins, 48.3% carbohydrates, 8.7% lipids, and 0.01% nucleic acid. The optimum condition for bioflocculant production of C. reinhardtii was as follows: under temperature of 15A degrees C to 25A degrees C, pH 6-10 and illumination of 40-60 mu mol photons m(-2) s(-1). The bioflocculants produced by C. reinhardtii showed maximum activity in pH ranges from 2 to 10. The flocculating activity was significantly enhanced by the addition of CaCl2 as a co-flocculant at an optimal concentration of 4.5 mM.