Diesel Oil Degradation Using Biosurfactant Produced by Pseudomonas sp.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas sp. GBS.5 on degradation of diesel oil.

Study Design: Shake flask studies were carried out with alkanes and diesel oil.

Place and Duration of Study: Deptt of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, from June 2014 – 2015.

Methodology: Shake flask studies were carried out to study the degradation of alkanes and diesel oil. The degradation was studied using Gas Chromatography.

Results: Biosurfactant was extracted by growing Pseudomonas sp. cells on minimal media with oil after 168 hrs. The production was confirmed by various qualitative and quantitative assays. The biosurfactant extracted was used to study the degradation of alkanes (n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane, n-heptadecane, n-docosane) and oil. It was observed that biosurfactant enhanced the degradation rate of all alkanes except n-docosane. Similar effect was also observed on the degradation of alkanes in presence of oil.

Conclusion: The results indicated that the bacterial isolate Pseudomonas sp. strain GBS.5 exhibit potential for bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils. GC analysis led to the identification and degradation of certain long chain alkanes degraded by Pseudomonas sp. GBS.5 associated with biosurfactant production. Biosurfactants produced by the oil degrading bacteria facilitate the uptake of oil hydrocarbons by bacterial cells thereby improving the degradation of the hydrocarbons which leads to a keen interest on these microbial products as alternatives to chemical surfactants.