Progress in sustainable remediation: Utilizing biosurfactants for eco-friendly contaminant cleanup

Abstract

Rapid development of industry and the persistent discharge of untreated industrial effluents are critical difficulties that cause harmful effects to the environment. About 20 % of the world's freshwater supply is contaminated because up to 70 % of untreated industrial waste is discharged directly into water bodies in some areas. Remediation of contaminated sites utilizing microbial process has demonstrated successful and consistent because of its eco-accommodating features. Biosurfactants are surface dynamic particles having hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties as their constituents which permit them to connect at interfaces and decrease the surface pressure. Thus, water surface tension can be lowered by biosurfactants from 72 mN/m to as low as 27 mN/m. Additionally, yields of biosurfactant production can be as high as 10 g/L, depending upon the microbial strain and the conditions of fermentation. This review provides in-depth knowledge of properties and classifications, interaction mechanism of biosurfactant and pollutant.