hinged on the type and nature of biosurfactants harnessed via microorganisms
(Sarafzadeh et al. 2014). Augmentation with the aid of biosurfactants to plant
protection fabrications and/or fertilizers can minimize the interphase tensions and
generate heightened wettability of soil and further aid the alienation of hydrophobic
pollutants from these soil constituents (Mulligan et al. 2001a, b).
Biosurfactants have been widely investigated for its role in the remediation of
soils contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons to enhance the
soil quality, thus maximizing the crop yield (Kumar et al. 2006; Ochoa-Loza et al.
2007). Bioremediation of biosurfactant is usually achieved via minimizing the water
repellence of these hydrophobic pollutants. L. pentosus biosurfactant was noted for
its role in repelling natural pollutants, such as humic acids (Paradelo et al. 2009), and
biodegradation of octane in the soil (Moldes et al. 2013; Vecino et al. 2013). In the
past decade, notable publications were made on biosurfactant’s role as emulsifying
agents for remediation of pesticide-contaminated soils (Guo et al. 2016; Mani et al.
2011; Singh et al. 2016; Wan et al. 2014). A team under Singh et al. (2016) proved
that the solubility of chlorpyrifos increased up to 87% in the medium augmented
with biosurfactant of Pseudomonas sp. Wan et al. (2014) established that maximizing the dosage of rhamnolipids impacted positively on the solubility of lindane, and
Manickam et al. (2012) published a work wherein rhamnolipids harnessed via
Pseudomonas aeruginosa heightened the solubilization of hexachlorocyclohexane
(HCH) by nine times. The use of Burkholderia cenocepacia biosurfactant magnified
the solubility of three pesticides (methyl parathion, ethyl parathion, and trifluralin)
(Wattanaphon et al. 2008). Zhang et al. (2013) proved that the exile of triclosan from
soil sediments accelerated with the aid of rhamnolipids.
5.2 Applications of Biosurfactants in Oil Recovery
In the microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technique, different microbial
species are applied to generate biosurfactants for oil recovery enhancement such as
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and
Bacillus subtilis (Dhanarajan et al. 2017; Fernandes et al. 2016; Zhao et al. 2018).
The injection of microbes causes the reduction of interfacial tension and oil viscosity
between the surface of the rock matrix and oil hydrocarbons that can facilitate the
mobilization of oil, and, further, increment of oil recovery is the principle of this
technique (Hosseininoosheri et al. 2016) as shown in Fig. 1.7.
Rocha e Silva et al. (2017) explored the use of biosurfactants from Candida
guilliermondii, Candida lipolytica, Candida sphaerica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Pseudomonas cepacia, and Bacillus sp. as de-emulsifiers of petroleum derivatives
and obtained promising results for the bacterial strains where recovery was 65%
higher when compared with that of yeast’s (35–40%) (Rocha e Silva et al. 2017).
1 A Review on Production, Properties, and Applications of Microbial Surfactants as. . .
19
(Sarafzadeh et al. 2014). Augmentation with the aid of biosurfactants to plant
protection fabrications and/or fertilizers can minimize the interphase tensions and
generate heightened wettability of soil and further aid the alienation of hydrophobic
pollutants from these soil constituents (Mulligan et al. 2001a, b).
Biosurfactants have been widely investigated for its role in the remediation of
soils contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons to enhance the
soil quality, thus maximizing the crop yield (Kumar et al. 2006; Ochoa-Loza et al.
2007). Bioremediation of biosurfactant is usually achieved via minimizing the water
repellence of these hydrophobic pollutants. L. pentosus biosurfactant was noted for
its role in repelling natural pollutants, such as humic acids (Paradelo et al. 2009), and
biodegradation of octane in the soil (Moldes et al. 2013; Vecino et al. 2013). In the
past decade, notable publications were made on biosurfactant’s role as emulsifying
agents for remediation of pesticide-contaminated soils (Guo et al. 2016; Mani et al.
2011; Singh et al. 2016; Wan et al. 2014). A team under Singh et al. (2016) proved
that the solubility of chlorpyrifos increased up to 87% in the medium augmented
with biosurfactant of Pseudomonas sp. Wan et al. (2014) established that maximizing the dosage of rhamnolipids impacted positively on the solubility of lindane, and
Manickam et al. (2012) published a work wherein rhamnolipids harnessed via
Pseudomonas aeruginosa heightened the solubilization of hexachlorocyclohexane
(HCH) by nine times. The use of Burkholderia cenocepacia biosurfactant magnified
the solubility of three pesticides (methyl parathion, ethyl parathion, and trifluralin)
(Wattanaphon et al. 2008). Zhang et al. (2013) proved that the exile of triclosan from
soil sediments accelerated with the aid of rhamnolipids.
5.2 Applications of Biosurfactants in Oil Recovery
In the microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) technique, different microbial
species are applied to generate biosurfactants for oil recovery enhancement such as
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, and
Bacillus subtilis (Dhanarajan et al. 2017; Fernandes et al. 2016; Zhao et al. 2018).
The injection of microbes causes the reduction of interfacial tension and oil viscosity
between the surface of the rock matrix and oil hydrocarbons that can facilitate the
mobilization of oil, and, further, increment of oil recovery is the principle of this
technique (Hosseininoosheri et al. 2016) as shown in Fig. 1.7.
Rocha e Silva et al. (2017) explored the use of biosurfactants from Candida
guilliermondii, Candida lipolytica, Candida sphaerica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Pseudomonas cepacia, and Bacillus sp. as de-emulsifiers of petroleum derivatives
and obtained promising results for the bacterial strains where recovery was 65%
higher when compared with that of yeast’s (35–40%) (Rocha e Silva et al. 2017).
1 A Review on Production, Properties, and Applications of Microbial Surfactants as. . .
19