Essay On Biosurfactant

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

Biosurfactants (BS) are natural surfactants produced by a living organism that decreases the surface tension of water. Biosurfactants are a variety of surface active compounds produced by bacteria, yeasts and fungi in microbial metabolism. Several microorganisms are known to synthesize surface-active agents; most of them are bacteria and yeasts [25].

Biosurfactants are amphiphilic compounds produced on living surfaces, mostly on microbial cell surfaces, or excreted extracellularly and contain hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties that confer the ability to accumulate between fluid phases, thus reducing surface and interfacial tension at the surface and interface respectively. Typical hydrophilic groups of biosurfactants are carbohydrates, peptides, amino acids etc. and

Compared to synthetic surfactant, they are characterized by diverse structure, excellent surface properties, low toxicity and environmental compatibility [108]. Nevertheless, biosurfactants can be produced with high yield by some microorganisms, especially Pseudomonas spp. These microorganisms can use the various renewal resources, especially agro-industrial wastes, as the potential carbon sources. This leads to the greater possibility for economical biosurfactant production and reduced pollution caused by those wastes. The potential commercial applications of biosurfactant include bioremediation of oil-polluted soil and water, enhanced oil recovery, replacement of chlorinated solvents used in cleaning-up oil-contaminated pipes, vessels and machinery, use in the detergent industry, formulations of herbicides and pesticides and formation of stable oil-in-water emulsions for the food and cosmetic industries[157],