Abstract
Bioflocculation, being environmental-friendly and highly efficient, is considered to be a promising method to harvest microalgae. However, one limitation of this technology is high expense on substrates for bioflocculant bacteria cultivation. In this regard, we developed an innovative method for the inner-recycling of biomass that could harvest the typical microalgae, Microcystis aeruginosa, using a bioflocculant produced by Citrobacter sp. AzoR-1. In turn, the flocculated algal biomass could be reutilized as a substrate for Citrobacter sp. AzoR-1 cultivation and bioflocculant production. The experimental results showed that 3.4 ± 0.1 g of bioflocculant (hereafter called MBF-12) was produced by 10 g/L of wet biomass of M. aeruginosa (high-pressure steam sterilized) with an additional 10 g/L of glucose as an extra carbon source. The efficiency of MBF-12 for M. aeruginosa harvesting could reach ~95% under the optimized condition. Further analysis showed that MBF-12, dominated by ~270 kDa biopolymers, contributed the bioflocculation mechanisms of interparticle bridging and biosorption process. Bioflocculant synthesis by Citrobacter sp. AzoR-1 using microalga as a substrate, including the polyketide sugar unit, lipopolysaccharide, peptidoglycan and terpenoid backbone pathways. Our research provides the first evidence that harvested algae can be reutilized as a substrate to grow a bioflocculant using Citrobacter sp. AzoR-1.