Effect of pH, cationic inducer, and clam shells as bio-flocculant in the optimization of the flocculation process for enhanced microalgae harvesting using response surface methodology

Flocculants agglomerate suspended microalgae cells, while cost and toxicity have led to the increased use of bio-flocculants. In this experiment, Chlorella pyrenoidosa was gathered by utilizing bio-flocculants from discarded clam shells. At pH 8, 0.2 mg/mL bio-flocculant shell, 0.1 cationic inducer, 240 rpm mixing achieved 91.87 % flocculation efficiency 458.1 mg recovered biomass. Calcium ions in are main contributor flocculation, employing charge neutralization sweeping as mechanisms. Zn2+ salt boosts neutralizing functional group's negative charge. The R2 values 0.8969 0.8894 for harvesting biomass reflect model's predictive power. XRD exhibited faint, indistinct peaks with considerable noise, indicating that chitosan bioflocculant did not a crystalline structure had become fibrillar. Response Surface Methodology approach, which promotes improves water reuse harvesting.