Impact of extraction methods on bio-flocculants recovered from backwashed sludge of bio-filtration unit

Effect of ten extraction methods on flocculation activity and chemical composition of bio-flocculants recovered from backwashed sludge of bio-filtration unit was studied. The results showed that the chemical method was better than physical method with respect to the extracted BFs weight and its flocculation activity. Cell lysis did not affect to the flocculation activity of BFs. Among ten extraction methods, EDTA (20 g/L) was the best one with extracted BFs dry weight of 6242 mg/L and flocculation activity of 83%. Optimization of EDTA concentration showed that 5 g EDTA/L (or 0.2 g EDTA/g SS) was suitable for recovery of BFs from backwashed sludge. The flocculation activity of BFs was 94% when using 2.4 mg of BFs/g of kaolin. The outcome of this study suggested that backwashed sludge of the bio-filtration unit was a potential source for exploiting bio-flocculants.