Fast Biodegradation of Diesel Hydrocarbons at High Concentration by the Sophorolipid-Producing Yeast Candida catenulata KP324968

Abstract

In the last decades, biodegradation as an environmentally friendly approach has raised interest in connection with the removal of hydrocarbon pollutants. Its capacity for removing pollutants strongly depends on the type of living cell and environmental conditions. The degradative activity of a new sophorolipid-producing yeast, <i>Candida catenulata</i> KP324968, in the removal of high concentrations of diesel from effluents was statistically evaluated considering the initial pH, the agitation speed, and the initial diesel concentration. The optimal setting of the operational variables at an initial pH of 4.7, an agitation speed of 204 rpm, and an initial diesel concentration of 93.4 g L^–1 resulted in the highest total petroleum hydrocarbon removal efficiency: about 82.1% after 6 days (biodegradation rate: 0.378 g g_cell^–1 h^–1). During the cell growth phase, the emulsification index in the medium increased and reached its highest level at 64.6% after 48 h. Further tests indicated that the emulsification capacity was obtained by in situ production of two sophorolipid molecules with an m/z of 533 and 583. In summary, its effective diesel removal and high emulsification capacity makes <i>C. catenulata</i> KP324968 an attractive candidate yeast for the degradation of hydrocarbons from aqueous environments.