POSSIBILITY OF USING EGG SHELL AS A FLOCCULANT TO HARVEST BIOMASS OF Bacillus sp. FOLLOWING BIOTECHNOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF FOOD SECTOR WASTEWATERS

The aim of this study was to asses the ability of egg shell flocculation to recover bacterial Bacillus sp. BioSol021 biomass from the broth after biological treatment of wastewaters from the dairy, wine and fruit juice industries. Different concentrations of flocculant were used to estimate the effect of egg shell dosage on flocculation efficiency and antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus flavus, i.e., inhibition zone diameter. The maximum values for flocculation efficiency and inhibition zone diameter (antimicrobial activity against Aspergillus flavus) for cheese whey effluent were 94.02%, 45 mm, respectively. The maximum values, in the case of winery flotation effluent were 87.77%, 33 mm, and for the fruit juice wastwater 87.25%, 58 mm, respectively. These results indicate that egg shells could be successfully applied as the flocculating agent for separation of Bacillus sp. BioSol021 from the cultivation broth.