Flocculation of quartz and kaolin by alginate-protamine complex

A novel bioflocculant, alginate-protamine complex, was developed and was proposed in this study. Alginate and protamine have no flocculating ability solely, however, the mixture solution of alginate and protamine or alginate-protamine complex showed a good flocculating ability. This study reported a flocculating performance of the alginate-protamine complex. The flocculation performance was evaluated by clarification experiment with kaolin and pulverized quartz sand in terms of relative absorbance. The flocculation performance was examined by varying experimental conditions, especially, alginate/protamine mass mixing ratio and pH. The flocculation performance was significantly affected by the mass mixing ratio and pH. The most effective mass mixing ratio was found at 0.4-0.8 in the pH range of 3-7. The flocculation performance was also affected significantly by pH. Good flocculation performance was provided at pH 3-7, however, the performance was getting worse at pH 8-11