Comparative study of the production of rhamnolipid biosurfactants by B. thailandensis E264 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 using foam fractionation

de Rienzo, M; Kalalanathan, ID; Martin, PJ

Abstract

Biosurfactants are surface-active agents that are produced by a variety of microorganisms including yeasts, filamentous fungi and bacteria. In this work, we report on the ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 and Burkholderia thailandensis E264 to produce rhamnolipids via a 10-L bioreactor and their recovery through foam fractionation studies in a continuous stripping mode. The recovery of Rha-C10-C10 (mono-rhamnolipids) produced by P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 increased (from 6% to 96%), whilst the enrichment decreased (from 2.9 to 1.2) with the increasing airflow rate. These results are consistent with foam fractionation of a single surfactant system with stable foam. The recovery and enrichment of Rha-Rha-C14-C14 (di-rhamnolipids) produced by B. thailandensis E264 (and an unknown molecule) in a single-component system were found to display different characteristics. Both recovery and enrichment were found to decrease with the airflow rate. It is postulated that a competitive adsorption process could occur between the smaller molecule identified by electrospray ionisation–mass spectrometry (ESI–MS) and Rha-Rha-C14-C14.

Citation

de Rienzo, M., Kalalanathan, I., & Martin, P. (2016). Comparative study of the production of rhamnolipid biosurfactants by B. thailandensis E264 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 9027 using foam fractionation. Process Biochemistry, 51(7), 820-827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2016.04.007

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 8, 2016
• Publication Date: May 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 26, 2023
• Journal: Process Biochemistry
• Print ISSN: 1359-5113
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 820-827
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2016.04.007