Characterization of a Bioflocculant Produced by an Isolate, Bacillus megaterium G31

A bacterial strain capable of producing a novel bioflocculant was isolated from a biofilm sample and identified as Bacillus megaterium G31. The highest biopolymer yield was achieved when the organism was cultivated in a medium containing acetate as the sole carbon source and ($NH_4)_2HPO_4$as the nitrogen source. In kaolin suspension, the flocculating activity was highest at 170 mg I$^{-1}$ and decreased at the higher bioflocculant concentrations. The crude bioflocculant produced by the organism was purified by ethanol precipitation and gel permeation chromatography. The FTIR spectrum of the purified bioflocculant revealed that the bioflocculant might be a heterogeneous polysaccharide composed of hexosamines and neutral sugars. The analysis of sugar components of the bioflocculant using high performance anion-exchange chromatography showed that the sugar constituents of the bioflocculant were glucosamine, fucose, galactosamine, galactose, glucose, mannose in approximate molar ratio of 4 : 1 : 6 : 3 : 8 : 19. Its flocculating activity was stimulated by various cations. The bioflocculant was thermo-stable and retained 64% of its original activity after heating at $100^{\circ}C$ for 50 min.