Bioflocculant BF-R1 production by Bacillus sp. R1 using wheat bran hydrolysate and its application in wastewater treatment

Abstract

Bioflocculants are commonly used in wastewater treatment. In this study, an efficient bioflocculant-producing strain, Bacillus sp. R1, was isolated and identified; strain R1 could efficiently produce bioflocculant BF-R1 with wheat bran hydrolysate. The characteristics and flocculation mechanisms of BF-R1 were determined and it was then applied for the granular carbon particles treatment in wastewater. Notably, 3.71 g of BF-R1 were produced when 200 mL/L wheat bran hydrolysate was used as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. BF-R1 contained polysaccharides, proteins, and glycoproteins and showed a good flocculating efficiency of 91.00% for granular carbon particles in contaminated wastewater when 3.50 g/L BF-R1 was added, thus achieving successful recycling of fine particle-contaminated wastewater. Taken together, our findings for the first time demonstrate that BF-R1 fermented using WBH can probably be a promising candidate agent for wastewater management processes.