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Enhanced Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons in Soil by Microbial Biosurfactant, Sophorolipid

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Abstract

Effectiveness of a microbial biosurfactant, sophorolipid, was evaluated in washing and biodegradation of model hydrocarbons and crude oil in soil. Thirty percent of 2-methylnaphthalene was effectively washed and solubilized with 10 g/L of sophorolipid with similar or higher efficiency than that of commercial surfactants. Addition of sophorolipid in soil increased biodegradation of model compounds: 2-methylnaphthalene (95% degradation in 2 days), hexadecane (97%, 6 days), and pristane (85%, 6 days). Also, effective biodegradation method of crude oil in soil was observed by the addition of sophorolipid, resulting in 80% biodegradation of saturates and 72% aromatics in 8 weeks. These results showed the potentials of the microbial biosurfactant, sophorolipid, as an effective surfactant for soil washing and as an in situ biodegradation enhancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MEST) R0A-2007-000-10015-0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 402-751, Korea

    Seok-Whan Kang, Young-Bum Kim, Jae-Dong Shin & Eun-Ki Kim

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  1. Seok-Whan Kang
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  2. Young-Bum Kim
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Correspondence to Eun-Ki Kim.

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Kang, SW., Kim, YB., Shin, JD. et al. Enhanced Biodegradation of Hydrocarbons in Soil by Microbial Biosurfactant, Sophorolipid. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 160, 780–790 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-009-8580-5

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