Bacillus mojavensis strain 32A, a bioflocculant-producing bacterium isolated from an Egyptian salt production pond.

Bacillus mojavensis strain 32A that exhibited 96.11% flocculation efficiency for clay suspensions was selected from other 15 comparative strains. Under growth condition, strain 32A was able to produce 5.2g/L of purified biopolymer. Its constituent was mainly polysaccharide and protein with proportional of 98.4-1.6% respectively. FTIR spectrum was confirming its chemical analysis. This biopolymer attain very fast sedimentation rate. The cost-effective biopolymer and CaCl(2) dosages were 3mg/L and 5 ml/L respectively that posed 89.7% flocculation efficiency. These dosages were suitable only for clay concentrations ≤5g/L. The maximum flocculation efficiency of the biopolymer recorded at pH 1.0 of clay suspension. The too high (>75°C) or too low (<25°C) clay suspension temperature was unfavorable for the biopolymer flocculation performance. The biopolymer solution utilized high thermal stability over the temperature range of 5-60°C. Furthermore, its pH stability recorded at pH range of 5-9.