Production of biosurfactant by Pseudomonas taenensis using different solid and liquid wastes as energy source

Persistence and recalcitrant of materials in the environment for longer period of time that has surfactant which are main ingredients of some products that are our basic needs e.g. detergents, shampoos, toothpaste, soap e.t.c. are of great concern. These surfactants are mainly of chemical origin which gives the scientists keen interest and reason for replacing chemical surfactant found in the products with biosurfactants. Biosurfactants are surface active compounds that have key roles in various field of applications such as bioremediation, biodegradation, enhanced oil recovery, pharmaceutics, food processing among many others. This study aimed at the production of low cost biosurfactant using different solid and liquid wastes as energy sources. Biosurfactant was produced in the fermentation broth at 24hrs to 168hrs using different solid and liquid wastes and was extracted using solvent extraction method (methanol and chloroform) in the ratio of 2:1. The biosurfactant was purified using open column chromatography and characterized using thin layer chromatography. Result showed that potato peel waste produced the highest biosurfactant yield of 21.0mg/L at 168 hrs while groundnut cake had the lowest biosurfactant yield of 0.09 mg/L at 24 hrs. Eluents of molasses as energy source in the fermentation broth from open column chromatography was the only informative one which showed that the biosurfactant present is a glycolipid and thin layer chromatography showed that the sugars present were: arabinose, glucose and ribose sugar. Result showed the potential of Pseudomonas taenensis to successfully producedlow cost biosurfactant that could be used in many industrial sectors.