Concentration of Cupriavidus necator cells by flocculation and sedimentation

Separation and cells concentration constitute important stages in most biotechnological processes. Particularly, use of flocculation/sedimentation can improve significantly the extraction of biopolymers accumulated by microorganisms and the biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds by cell sludge. In t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:World journal of microbiology & biotechnology 2007-12, Vol.23 (12), p.1789-1795
Main Authors: Finkler, Leandro, Luna-Finkler, Christine Lamenha, Pinto, José Carlos, Alves, Tito Livio Moitinho
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aluminum
Biodegradation
Biological and medical sciences
Biopolymers
Biotechnology
Cells concentration
Cupriavidus necator
Flocculation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Jar tests
Microorganisms
Sedimentation
Sedimentation & deposition
Settlers
Sludge
Studies
Tannin
Tannins
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Separation and cells concentration constitute important stages in most biotechnological processes. Particularly, use of flocculation/sedimentation can improve significantly the extraction of biopolymers accumulated by microorganisms and the biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds by cell sludge. In this work the use of tannin and aluminum sulphate (Al₂(SO₄)₃) as flocculating agents for concentration of cells of Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 is evaluated. Cells were grown in broth nutrient medium in Erlenmeyer flasks, submitted to orbital agitation of 160 rpm at 30 °C for 21 h. The optimal concentrations of flocculating agents, as determined with a standard jar test method, were equal to 2,800 mg/L for tannin and 800 mg/L for Al₂(SO₄)₃, allowing for recovery of 95% of the cells in both cases. Obtained flocs presented density and average diameter of 1.03 g/mL ± 0.01 g/mL and 158 μm ± 19 μm for tannin and of 1.05 g/mL ± 0.01 g/mL and 146 μm ± 14 μm for Al₂(SO₄)₃, respectively. Batch settling tests were performed in order to determine the operational capacity of continuous settlers to be used for separation of the investigated flocculent suspensions. Finally, cultivation of cells using flocs as inoculum indicated that the cells remained viable after flocculation with usage of the optimum flocculating agent concentrations.
ISSN:0959-3993
1573-0972
DOI:10.1007/s11274-007-9429-0