Production and application of a novel bioflocculant by multiple-microorganism consortia using brewery wastewater as carbon source.

The flocculating activity of a novel bioflocculant MMF1 produced by multiple-microorganism consortia MM1 was investigated. MM1 was composed of strain BAFRT4 identified as Staphylococcus sp. and strain CYGS1 identified as Pseudomonas sp. The flocculating activity of MMF1 isolated from the screening medium was 82.9%, which is remarkably higher than that of the bioflocculant produced by either of the strains under the same condition. Brewery wastewater was also used as the carbon source for MM1, and the cost-effective production medium for MM1 mainly comprised 1.0 L brewery water (chemical oxygen demand (COD) 5000 mg/L), 0.5 g/L urea, 0.5 g/L yeast extract, and 0.2 g/L (NH4)2SO4. The optimal conditions for the production of MMF1 was inoculum size 2%, initial pH 6.0, cultivating temperature 30 degrees C, and shaking speed 160 r/min, under which the flocculating activity of the MMF1 reached 96.8%. Fifteen grams of purified bioflocculant could be recovered from 1.0 L of fermentation broth. MMF1 was identified as a macromolecular substance containing both protein and polysaccharide. It showed good flocculating performance in treating indigotin printing and dyeing wastewater, and the maximal removal efficiencies of COD and chroma were 79.2% and 86.5%, respectively.