Application of biosurfactant as a noninvasive stimulant to enhance the degradation activities of indigenous hydrocarbon degraders in the soil

Abstract Biosurfactants are widely used as a potential alternative for chemical-based surfactants for the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. These biosurfactants support bioremediation of hydrocarbon pollutants in contaminated environmental sites without any adverse toxicity. Furthermore, there are several indigenous soil microbes used in the bioremediation of toxic hydrocarbons from the environment. These indigenous microbes possess the ability to degrade hydrocarbons, solubilize and utilize them as a nutrient source, and convert them into a nontoxic product by acting as a noninvasive stimulator of biosurfactants for enhanced bioremediation. Some other bioremediation techniques utilized together with biosurfactant includes bioaugmentation, natural attenuation, phytoremediation, and bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation to eliminate petroleum hydrocarbon and heavy metal co-contaminated soil. This chapter provides detailed information on various indigenous microbes that are beneficial in the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soil in combination with biosurfactants. In addition, the effect of utilizing indigenous microbes in combination with natural attenuators for bioaugmentation, biostimulation, and bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons is also discussed.