ESTUDO DA PRODUÇÃO DE BIOSSURFACTANTES UTILIZANDO HIDROCARBONETOS

Biosurfactants are compounds surface-active produced microbially. The ability of the biosurfactant producers to reduce interfacial surface tension has important tertiary oil recovery and bioremediation consequences. The biosurfactant synthesis, emulsification power, stability in extreme conditions from laboratory experiments simulating water contamination with benzene, toluene, kerosene, diesel oil and oil crude at different concentration was studied in this work. Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI isolated from hydrocarbon contaminated soil and potential producer of biosurfactant was used for hydrocarbon biodegradation. The petroleum waste from REPLAN – PETROBRAS, alternative source of low cost to biosurfactant synthesis was utilized on medium culture. These studies were done at 30C with shaking at 200 rpm, during 168 hours, in triplicate. The samples were withdrawn daily for growth studies and biosurfactant production. The surface tension, pH and stability studies were done with the cell-free broth after 168 hours of incubation. The strain was able to produce biosurfactants and to grow on the analyzed carbon sources, except benzene and toluene. When cultivated on diesel oil 30%, the strain produced higher quantities of biosurfactant. The biosurfactant was able to emulsifier all analyzed hydrocarbons. Stability studies of the product on the culture broth indicate that the biosurfactant is stable in extreme conditions. Therefore the strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI and the biosurfactant produced have potential applications in bioremediation of site hydrocarbon contaminated, and possible application in enhanced oil recuperation.