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Polyelectrolytes have been used in wastewater treatment processes to destabilize colloidal suspensions of proteins, cells and other biological compounds, resulting in¯occulation. When a solution containing a single model protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), is treated with a polyelectrolyte, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), large and strong¯ocs are formed, which are easily retained by a 20 mm pore size ®lter. However, when a mixture of proteins, cells, and fats from an actual wastewater sample is treated in the same manner, smaller and weaker¯ocs are observed. An adsorption and ®ltration process for the recovery of valuable biological compounds using cellulosebased ®brous materials has been developed. When used simultaneously with CMC, cellulose acetate and triacetate ®brets (CAF and CTF) resulted in high recovery of biomolecules from solution at very low dosages of both polyelectrolyte and ®brets. CMC interacts with biomolecules by electrostatic interactions and polymer bridging, while CTF/CAF facilitate¯oc growth by adsorption and bridging of primary particles and by entrapment of small aggregates within their highly ®brillated microstructure.