Production of a Novel Bioflocculant by Culture of Penicillium purpurogenum HHE-P7 Using Confectionery Wastewater

The flocculating activity of a novel bioflocculant by Penicillium purpurogenum HHEP7 using confectionery wastewate as carbon source was investigated. The single factor and orthogonal experiments were conducted to research into the factors affecting the flocculation production. Three major components were examined, namely glucose, nitrogen source and initial pH, the optimum culture condition for strain HHE-P7 to produce bioflocculant with high efficiency using confectionery wastewater was selected as follows: 20 g /L total sugar concentration of confectionery wastewater, 5 g/ L KNO
₃
, 0.1g/ L NaCl, 5 g/ L KH
₂
PO4, and 2 g/ L K
₂
HPO4, initial pH 6.0, and 4 days cultivation at 30°C. The results showed that the flocculant produced by HHE-P7 using confectionery wastewater was high flocculation efficiency, which exhibited flocculation rate for kaolin suspension above 90 %.