Glycerol as substrate for the production of biosurfactant by Pseudomonas aeruginosa UCP0992

In this work the influence of the carbon source concentration, of the type and concentration of the nitrogen source and of the cultivation conditions (temperature, aeration and agitation speed) in mineral medium formulated with glycerol was studied for biosurfactant production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa UCP0992. The kinetics of microorganism growth and biosurfactant production have been described for the medium supplemented with 3% glycerol and 0.6% NaNO₃, at 28 °C during 120 h under 200 rpm, showing a growth-associated production. The isolated biosurfactant corresponded to a concentration of 8.0 g/l after 96 h. The medium surface tension was reduced to 27.4 mN/m and the emulsification index of hexadecane reached 75–80% after 72 h. A CMC of 700 mg/l and an interfacial tension against hexadecane of 2 mN/m were obtained. The biosurfactant showed stability when submitted at 90 °C during 2 h, and thermal (4–120 °C) and pH (4–12) stability regarding the surface tension reduction and the emulsification capacity of vegetable oils and hydrocarbons, and tolerance under high salt concentrations (2–10%). The biosurfactant was characterized as a group of rhamnolipids with anionic nature. The crude biosurfactant did not show toxicity against the microcrustacean Artemia salina and the cabbage (Brassica oleracea), while the isolated biosurfactant showed toxicity against the microcrustacean at the CMC. The application of the biosurfactant in diesel recovery from sand was demonstrated by removal percentiles above 85%. The results obtained in this work are noteworthy for possible biosurfactant production from glycerol with potential of application in the environment.