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Biodegradation of crude oil byPseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence of rhamnolipids

  • Chemical and Environmental Engineering
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Abstract

The potential biodegradation of crude oil was assessed based on the development of a fermentative process with a strain ofPseudomonas aeruginosa which produced 15.4 g/L rhamnolipids when cultured in a basal mineral medium using glycerol as a sole carbon source. However, neither cell growth nor rhamnolipid production was observed in the comparative culture system using crude oil as the sole carbon source instead. As rhamnolipid, an effective biosurfactant, has been reported to stimulate the biodegradation of hydrocarbons, 1 g/L glycerol or 0.22 g/L rhamnolipid was initially added into the medium to facilitate the biodegradation of crude oil. In both situations, more than 58% of crude oil was degraded and further converted into accumulated cell biomass and rhamnolipids. These results suggest thatPseudomonas aeruginosa could degrade most of crude oil with direct or indirect addition of rhamnolipid. And this conclusion was further supported by another adsorption experiment, where the adsorption capacity of crude oil by killed cell biomass was negligible in comparison with the biologic activities of live cell biomass.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, China

    Zhang Guo-liang, Wu Yue-ting, Qian Xin-ping & Meng Qin

  2. Institute of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, 310032, Hangzhou, China

    Zhang Guo-liang

Authors
  1. Zhang Guo-liang
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  2. Wu Yue-ting
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  3. Qian Xin-ping
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  4. Meng Qin
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Correspondence to Meng Qin.

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Project supported by Science Foundation from China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China

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Guo-liang, Z., Yue-ting, W., Xin-ping, Q. et al. Biodegradation of crude oil byPseudomonas aeruginosa in the presence of rhamnolipids. J. Zheijang Univ.-Sci. B 6, 725–730 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842430

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842430

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