Enhancing the ability of two kinds of oil-degrading bacteria to treat oily sludge by optimising the growth conditions using a response surface methodology.

Abstract

Biosurfactant are Surfactants produced by certain microorganisms. These biosurfactants increase the biodegradability of insoluble pollutants. In this study, the fermentation products of Pseudomonas stutzeri Lh-42 (PS) and Rhodococcus sp. PR-1 (RD) were studied by Oil spreading method, emulsifying activity and infrared spectrum analysis. It was proved that these fermentation products were biosurfactant. And then the fermentation conditions of PS, RD were optimised by Placket-Burman (PB) design, hill-climbing experiment and response surface methodology (RSM). N source and liquid loading were significant factors in the fermentation of PS, while C source and speed were significant factors in the fermentation of RD. The surface tension was found to be as low as 39.53 ± 0.25 mN/m for the fermentation conditions of PS with an N source of 4.62 ± 0.41 g and a liquid loading of 28.4 ± 0.3%. The surface tension was 40.70 ± 0.47 mN/m for the incubation conditions of RD with a C source of 26.94 ± 0.62 g and a rotational speed of 210 r/min. Finally, the experimental results for the degradation of oily sludge showed that the degradation rate of oily sludge was improved when the fermentation conditions were optimised. The results of the infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that the organic matter content of the oily sludge treated with PS bacteria was significantly reduced after the optimised fermentation. This study provides a theoretical reference for further use of these bacteria to produce biosurfactants to treat organic matter.