Biosurfactant, a green and effective solution for bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in the aquatic environment

Abstract

When pollutants like petroleum hydrocarbons as one of the major origins of aquatic pollution, enter the environment, they alter the biological and/or physicochemical characteristics of the aforementioned sites due to their potential of bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and resistance against biodegradation besides its toxicity and carcinogenicity in nature. Thus, the importance of degradation, deterioration and remediation of these pollutants from environments such as aquatic environments via a green method such as bioremediation is undeniable. Biosurfactants as secondary metabolites of microorganisms, enhance the bioremediation rate of petroleum hydrocarbons. Using oleophilic microorganisms with the capability of biosurfactant production which this paper calls "potential microorganisms" in a bioremediation system is promising. This article reviews the effective factors on bioremediation and the share of biosurfactants on the rate of bioremediation process, chemical surfactants and their limiting factors as biosurfactant's chemical counterpart, the rising market of biosurfactant and its promising future, various types of biosurfactants, and the requirements to develop an optimized biosurfactant-base bioremediation system. Furthermore, this paper based on former studies suggests a novel in-situ biosurfactant-based bioremediation system integrated with Biochar called “Potential Microorganisms Immobilized on Biochar system” (PMIBC system) as a cost-effective in-situ bioremediation system for decontamination of aquatic environments like groundwater, lakes, marshes, etc. from petroleum hydrocarbons and oil spills which requires further study.

Kinetic Study of Ru(III) Promoted Oxidation of L-Tryptophan in an Anionic Surfactant Medium by Hexacyanoferrate(III)

“…Surfactants are widely used in modern industries due to their surface-active properties [1][2][3]. The amphiphilic structure of surfactants containing both a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophilic head is responsible for its surface activity [4].…”

Great Abilities of Shinella zoogloeoides Strain from a Landfarming Soil for Crude Oil Degradation and a Synergy Model for Alginate-Bead-Entrapped Consortium Efficiency

“…The conventional methods, involving the use of heat or chemical and physical processes are costly and eco-unfriendly. Therefore, they have been marginalized to the benefit of biological techniques employing living organisms [ 4 ]. Especially, the use of hydrocarbon-degrading micro-organisms that have been enriched and adapted to contaminated sites has been proposed over the last few years as a sustainable approach to remediate oil-contaminated areas [ 2 , 5 , 6 ].…”

“…Oil remediation can also be improved by the application of surface-active agents. Surfactants reduce the surface tension at the oil–water interface, thus encapsulating oil in microdroplets and consequently making it more bioavailable [ 4 ]. Micro-organisms, including bacterial genera Bacillus , Pseudomonas , Rhodococcus , Acinetobacter , Corynebacterium , and Nocardia [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], are able to synthesize surface active agents called biosurfactants from cheap substrates, such as industrial wastes, or from carbon sources, such as oils [ 4 , 11 ].…”

“…Surfactants reduce the surface tension at the oil–water interface, thus encapsulating oil in microdroplets and consequently making it more bioavailable [ 4 ]. Micro-organisms, including bacterial genera Bacillus , Pseudomonas , Rhodococcus , Acinetobacter , Corynebacterium , and Nocardia [ 6 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], are able to synthesize surface active agents called biosurfactants from cheap substrates, such as industrial wastes, or from carbon sources, such as oils [ 4 , 11 ]. Biosurfactants are amphiphilic molecules with hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that optimize the microbial uptake of petroleum hydrocarbons by increasing the contact area with the contaminants.…”

Bioprospecção de fungos filamentosos isolados de sedimentos de mangue do estado de Pernambuco para biodegradação de petroderivados

“…Diante disso, diversos métodos vêm sendo desenvolvidos para a recuperação, remoção ou degradação in-situ ou ex- Research, Society and Development, v. 11, n. 9, e11311931559, 2022 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v11i9.31559 3 situ do petróleo derramado e consequentemente, para a minimização dos seus efeitos sobre os ecossistemas (Aparna, et al, 2011;Zahed, et al, 2022). Contudo, as técnicas convencionais (métodos físicos e químicos) apresentam problemas operacionais em razão do seu alto custo, necessidade de pessoal e de equipamentos.…”