Production of a novel bioflocculant by culture of Klebsiella mobilis using dairy wastewater

In this study, dairy wastewater, with 2% added ethanol (v/v), was used as a substrate for the production of a novel bioflocculant by Klebsiella mobilis. Using optimized conditions for the production of the novel bioflocculant, 2.58 g of crude bioflocculant per liter broth was produced with a flocculating activity of 95.4%. Chemical analysis showed that the novel bioflocculant was a polysaccharide where no amino acids were detected. The bioflocculant possesses flocculating activity comparable or superior to that of bioflocculant produced using conventional substrate. The bioflocculant was effective in flocculating some disperse dyes in aqueous solutions, in particular, disperse Violet HFRL with a decolorization efficiency of 91%.