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The Application of Biosurfactants in Bioremediation of the Aged Sediment Contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls

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Abstract

Currently, there is a considerable interest on application of bio-based surfactants as an alternative to conventional synthetic ones as well as in bioremediation technologies to decontaminate polluted sites more effectively. The work is focused on the study of the effects of two biosurfactants, non-ionic Saponin and anionic Rhamnolipids R-90 on the biodegradation of Delor 103, the industrial mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by bioaugmented bacterial strains. The bacterial isolates used in this study were obtained from long-term PCB-contaminated sediments of the industrial waste Strážsky canal. Enhanced biodegradation of PCBs by Gram-negative strains Achromobacter xylosoxidans (93%) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (66%) was observed with the addition of (bio)surfactants Saponin, Rhamnolipids R-90, and Triton X-100 in defined liquid mineral media. The addition of biosurfactant Saponin and Rhamnolipids R-90 increased the PCB biodegradation (55 and 60%, respectively) in the bioaugmented PCB-contaminated sediment inoculated with bacterial strain A. xylosoxidans as well. Regarding to the inhibitory effect of used (bio)surfactants, the obtained IC50 values confirmed that the non-ionic phytogenic Saponin and synthetic surfactant Triton X-100 had a significantly lower toxicity toward bioluminescence of the standard bacteria Vibrio fischeri and used PCB-degrading bacterial strains than the anionic bacterial surfactant Rhamnolipids R-90.

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Funding

The authors received financial support from the Scientific Grant Agency (project No. 1/0295/15) and from the Slovak Research and Development Agency (project No. APVV-0656-12) of the Ministry of Education, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Institute of Biotechnology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Katarína Lászlová, Hana Horváthová & Katarína Dercová

  2. Slovac Academy of Science, Institute of Chemistry, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Hana Dudášová

  3. Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Slovak University of Technology, Radlinského 9, 812 37, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Petra Olejníková

  4. Water Research Institute, Nábrežie arm. gen. L. Svobodu 5, 812 49, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    Gabriela Horváthová & Zuzana Velická

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  1. Katarína Lászlová
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  2. Hana Dudášová
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  3. Petra Olejníková
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  6. Hana Horváthová
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  7. Katarína Dercová
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Correspondence to Katarína Lászlová.

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Lászlová, K., Dudášová, H., Olejníková, P. et al. The Application of Biosurfactants in Bioremediation of the Aged Sediment Contaminated with Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Water Air Soil Pollut 229, 219 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3872-4

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