Abstract
Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipidic biosurfactants suitable for various biological and physicochemical applications. The nonedible Jatropha oil has been checked as the alternative raw material for SL synthesis using C. bombicola (ATCC22214). This is useful towards lowering the SL production cost. Through optimization of fermentation parameters and use of resting cell method, the yield 15.25 g/L could be achieved for Jatropha oil derived SL (SLJO) with 1% v/v oil feeding. The synthesized SL displayed good surfactant property. It reduced the surface tension of distilled water from 70.7 mN/m to 33.5 mN/m with the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) value of 9.5 mg/L. Keeping the prospective use of the SL in mind, the physicochemical properties were checked along with emulsion stability under temperature, pH stress, and in hard water. Also antibacterial action and stain removal capability in comparison with commercial detergent was demonstrated. SLJO enhanced the detergent performance. Based on the results, it can be said that SLs have utility as fabric cleaner with advantageous properties such as skin friendly nature, antibacterial action, and biodegradability. Therefore SLs are potential green molecules to replace synthetic surfactants in detergents so as to reduce harm caused to environment through detergent usage.
Highlights
In terms of production volume, surfactants belong to the most important classes of industrial chemicals with a current total world production exceeding 13 million tonnes per year [1]
Wetting property of individual surfactants as well as combinations of SLJO with synthetic surfactants SDS and Triton X-100 was checked since we aim to use the Sophorolipid SLJO (SL) as supplements in detergents
In order to maximize the product yield, 6 media differing in the proportion of sugar, nitrogen source, presence of buffer components, and so forth were chosen
Summary
In terms of production volume, surfactants belong to the most important classes of industrial chemicals with a current total world production exceeding 13 million tonnes per year [1]. The majority of the currently used surfactants are petroleum-based and are produced by chemical means. These compounds are often toxic to the environment, and their use may lead to significant ecological problems, in washing applications as these surfactants inevitably end up in the environment after use [2]. Attempts should be made to reduce the detergent load in to the environment In this scenario the biosurfactants are promising alternatives to synthetic surfactants as they can be produced from renewable feedstock by natural fermentation process. They are readily biodegradable and display low ecotoxicity [1]
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