Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EMULSIFYING PROPERTIES OF PROTEINS EXTRACTED FROMJATROPHA CURCAS L. TO HARVEST CHLORELLA VULGARIS SP.MICROALGAE

Nasrin Khodapanah, N. Syairah, Mohd Mustaqim and Syed Mahmood

Abstract

A bio-floatation technique was used to test the effectiveness of Jatropha curcas seed extract in recoveringmicroalgae from an aqueous medium. This technique used Jatropha curcas oil-protein extract emulsion forfloatation removal of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae. The effects of variables have been investigated in thisprocess, including operating parameters such as protein-oil emulsion dosage, pH, and mixing time. Amaximum floatation efficiency of 81% was observed when a 20 ml/l protein-oil emulsion dosage wastested at pH 2 and a mixing time of 4 min. Furthermore, the analysis of the microalgae’s zeta potentialchanges revealed a notable variation in value caused by the protein-oil emulsion. This bio-floatation techniqueis useful for the high-efficiency harvesting of microalgae to produce cost-effective biofuel.