Biosurfactants: New Insights in Bioengineering and Bioremediation of Crude Oil Contamination

Abstract

Human activities are the principal source of various kinds of hazardous substances in our environment, which have serious consequencesfor the well-being of the environment and people. Using standard means to lessen, degrade, and eliminate these substances is usually causing harmful effects to environment. Pesticides, crude oil sludge, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic in nature. It has recently been shown to be possible to use microorganisms to breakdown and cleanse contaminated soil and water ecosystems, a process known as bio-reclamation. Biosurfactants, which are amphiphillic chemicals generated by bacteria, fungus, and yeast, have immense potential to lower the surface tension of a liquid as well as tension at the interface between 2 liquids or among a liquid and a solid. Additionally, bio surfactants strongly emulsify hydrophobic substances and create stable emulsions. Bio emulsifiers and biosurfactants are especially useful in a wide range of commercial and scientific applications, including pharmaceuticals, better oil recovery, and pollutant biodegradation. Thus, using biosurfactants to reduce crude oil pollution is an environmentally responsible strategy to developing a sustainable ecosystem.