REVIEW ARTICLE
Subject: Environmental Engineering | Bioremediation
Biosurfactant-Producing Bacteria: Key Insights into Isolation, Characterization, Production, and Applications in Environmental Remediation and Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR)
Author: Tanim Jabid Hossain1,2*
1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
2 Biochemistry and Pathogenesis of Microbes – BPM Unit, Laboratory for Health, Omics and Pathway Exploration (HOPE Research), Chattogram, Bangladesh
* Corresponding author: Tanim Jabid Hossain; email: tanim.bmb@gmail.com
Biosurfactants, amphiphilic molecules produced by diverse microorganisms, play a pivotal role in environmental remediation and microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) due to their unique properties. These molecules are identified through rigorous screening processes following the isolation and characterization of biosurfactant-producing bacteria from various environments, including soil, marine habitats, extreme environments, industrial settings, and oil reservoir. Methods such as drop collapse test, oil displacement method, surface tension measurement, emulsification assay, hemolysis assay, and Thin layer chromatography (TLC) are commonly employed to determine the biosurfactant producing capacity of these strains. For industrial applications, scaling up production often requires optimizing culture conditions, bioprocess engineering, and fermentation parameters. In environmental bioremediation, biosurfactants enhance the biodegradation of hydrophobic pollutants, facilitating the cleanup of oil-contaminated soils and waters. Their ability to solubilize and emulsify hydrocarbons makes them effective in mitigating the environmental impacts of oil spills and industrial effluents. Additionally, biosurfactants are significant in MEOR strategies as they improve oil recovery efficiency by reducing interfacial tension, altering wettability, and mobilizing trapped oil fractions in reservoirs. Their biodegradability, low toxicity, and robustness in harsh conditions make them sustainable alternatives to chemical surfactants in petroleum extraction processes. In addition, biosurfactants have diverse applications across multiple sectors, including their use as biopesticides and soil conditioners in agriculture, emulsifiers in the food industry, and drug delivery systems and skincare formulations in healthcare. This review synthesizes recent advancements in biosurfactant research, emphasizing their diverse habitats, screening strategies, production, and applications in sustainable environmental remediation and MEOR. Future research should explore biosurfactant producing strains having high efficacy and innovative applications of biosurfactants to address evolving environmental and industrial challenges.
Keywords: Microbial biosurfactant, isolation of biosurfactant producing bacteria, screening biosurfactant producing bacteria, biosurfactant production, applications of biosurfactants, bioremediation, enhanced oil recovery, MEOR
Cite: Hossain, Tanim Jabid (2024) Biosurfactant-Producing Bacteria: Key Insights into Isolation, Characterization, Production, and Applications in Environmental Remediation and Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR). Preprint. Available in https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381453733
Info: This is a preprint version; A preprint is a version of a scholarly paper that precedes formal peer review.
