Production, formulation and cost estimation of a commercial biosurfactant

Abstract

Due to their amphipathic nature, biosurfactants are multifunctional molecules that have considerable potential in several industries, especially the petroleum industry. In this study, the commercial production of a biosurfactant from Pseudomonas cepacia CCT6659 grown on industrial waste was investigated in a semi-industrial 50-L bioreactor for use in the removal of hydrocarbons from oily effluents. A concentration of 40.5 g/L was achieved in the scale up and the surface tension was reduced to 29 mN/m. The biosurfactant was formulated with an added preservative, tyndallization and the combination of fluent vaporization plus the preservative. Formulated biosurfactant samples were stored for 120 days. Tensioactive properties and stability were evaluated with different pH values, temperatures and salt concentrations. The commercial biosurfactant obtained with all formulation methods demonstrated good stability, with tolerance to a wide range of pH values as well as high temperature and high salinity, enabling application in extreme environmental conditions, as it occurs in industrial plants. The biosurfactant proved to be economically viable for large-scale application, as demonstrated by the cost of the product, estimated at around US$ 0.14-0.15/L and US$ 0.02/g for the formulated and the isolated biosurfactant, respectively. Both products were applied in an oil-fired thermoelectric plant for the treatment of oily effluents and removed up to 100% of the oil. Therefore, this biosurfactant is suitable for application under extreme conditions, such as in the petroleum industry, and can be produced at a more attractive price compared to other commercially available products on the market.

Microbial valorization of waste cooking oils for valuable compounds production – a review

“…Moreover, the authors concluded that yeast cultivation assisted with ultrasound led to an overall increase in the sophorolipids yield, attributing this result to cavitational effects that increase the cell permeability and improve WCO intake and metabolism of yeast cells. The production of biosurfactants by Pseudomonas cepacia from WCO was improved from 8 gÁL À1 (Silva et al, 2017) to 40.5 gÁL À1 (Silva et al, 2018), varying the scale from 500-mL Erlenmeyer flasks to a semi-industrial 50-L bioreactor. The biosurfactant yield obtained in Candida tropicalis cultures had an improvement of 40 %, 53 % and 75 % when produced in 2-L, 3-L and 50-L stirred tank bioreactors, respectively, comparatively to results attained in flasks experiments (Almeida et al, 2017;Junior et al, 2018).…”

Formulation of a Biodegradable Detergent for Cleaning Oily Residues Generated during Industrial Processes

“…Moreover, most commercial detergents/degreasing agents are petroleum based, many of which are nonbiodegradable and have a long half‐life in the environment (Rocha e Silva et al, 2019). Other important factors associated with these products are the high cost (ranging from R$ 28–51 per liter), inefficient grease removal, and corrosivity, which diminishes the useful life of parts and equipment in industrial plants (Almeida et al, 2016; Soares da Silva et al, 2019).…”

COVID-19: Eco-friendly hand hygiene for human and environmental safety

“…The main raw material used in soaps and hand sanitizers is petrochemicals based surfactant and ethanol (or isopropanol), respectively. Petrochemical based surfactants and ethanol are priced around US$ 1–3/kg and US$ 1.38/gallon, respectively ([ 51 ]; https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/ethanol ). The major limitation of the commercialization of any bio-based product is the cost associated with its production and biosurfactants are not different.…”