Performance and potential of bacterial biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from micellar solutions

ABSTRACT Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants that are considered toxic, carcinogens, and mutagens. One of the major concerns of environmental problems is the presence of PAHs due to the various natural and anthropogenic activities. The presence of PAHs in the environment creates problems since their presence has a detrimental effect on living beings. Biodegradation of PAHs is an environmentally friendly remediation technique involved in the removal of contaminants from the environment, which can be green and cost-effective, but it is far limited because of their low bioavailability. The presence of surfactants can increase the bioavailability of PAHs in aqueous solutions by lowering both surface tension and interfacial tension simultaneously. The sources and toxicity of PAHs, surfactant-enhanced solubilization of PAHs, inherent bacterial degradation of PAHs, the impact of synthetic and biosurfactant at the PAHs biodegradation, and possible mechanism of bacterial degradation in micellar solutions are presented in this review. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT