Bacillus sp. CP912, producing an extracellular biopolymer, was isolated from the soil. Maximum accumulation of the biopolymer was 10 g l(-1) culture broth with a yield of 88% from glucose consumed. The biopolymer was purified with several precipitation steps using ethanol and cetyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide. Carbohydrate analyses using various color reactions, infrared spectroscopy, and high performance liquid chromatography revealed that the biopolymer is a homopolysaccharide. The lipid emulsifying capacity of the polysaccharide was 100%, while that of xanthan gum was 94%.