Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Biosurfactant Specificity and Influence on Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons by Microbial Consortia in the Field
EPA Grant Number: R827132Title: Biosurfactant Specificity and Influence on Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbons by Microbial Consortia in the Field
Investigators: Shreve, Gina S. , Finnerty, William
Institution: Wayne State University
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through August 31, 2001
Project Amount: $424,689
RFA: EPA/DOE/NSF/ONR Joint Program on Bioremediation (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management
Objective:
A comprehensive research program involving basic and applied field investigations was defined to establish the efficacy of various classes of biosurfactants in the remediation of soils contaminated with mixed-hydrocarbon wastes. The objectives of this research project were to: (1) determine the basis for the hydrocarbon specificity of biosurfactants in terms of micelle size, micelle dielectric constant, and targeting of minimal interfacial tension values for mixed-micelle solutions to mixed wastes; (2) elucidate the influence of pollutant mixtures on the effectiveness of pure and mixed-biosurfactant micelles upon the solubilization of hydrocarbons; (3) assess hydrocarbon solubilization on the microbial degradation of target pollutants; and (4) complete field studies to determine the role and influence of biosurfactants in the remediation of polluted target sites.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The solubilization of specific hydrocarbon classes from mixed-waste components by biological surfactants in multiphase systems was examined during this period. Specifically, the ability of rhamnolipid biosurfactants to solubilize linear and branched alkane hydrocarbons, as well as mono- and polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a mixed-waste matrix containing trichloroethylene (TCE) was examined. Findings include the following:
· Thermodynamic frameworks describing synthetic surfactant physical behavior apply to microbial biosurfactant interfacial properties (Huang and Shreve, 2001; Huang, Potoff, and Shreve, in prepartion).
· In mixed-waste systems, hydrocarbon solutes compete for position in biosurfactant micelles. Solubilization patterns are directly influenced by hydrocarbon solute size and structure with larger planar spatially constricted molecules being the least soluble in surfactant systems. Preferential solubilization is determined primarily by solute molar volume and shape (Innakolu and Shreve, submitted March 2002).
· Microbial biodegradation of micellar-phase hydrocarbons can be kinetically described by coupled models including micellar solubilization, bulk phase micellar transport, microbial uptake, and biodegradation. This model was derived and applied to experimental data for Pseudomonas biosurfactant-mediated biodegradation of hexadecane. Experimental data fit the proposed model well (Sekelsky and Shreve, 1999).
· Although more water-soluble hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, and TCE were enhanced by the micellar phase, their biodegradation rate was not enhanced (Innakolu and Shreve, in preparation).
· A new rhamnolipid biosurfactant was described with distinctly different interfacial tension behavior against various hydrocarbon classes (Finnerty, Makulla, and Shreve, submitted January 2002a and January 2002b).
· Biosurfactant-enhanced desorption of alkane hydrocarbons in soil systems. Solubilized hydrocarbon was biodegraded. Surfactant solubilization enhanced the rate of microbial biodegradation in multiphase systems with complex mixtures of hydrocarbon waste (Kurnool and Shreve, in preparation).
· The field study conducted at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) site known as the National Center for Integrated Bioremediation (NCIBRD) in Oscoda, Michigan, yielded data indicating that the presence of biosurfactant in the in situ microcosms increased the observed rate of hydrocarbon reduction, thus indicating that the biosurfactant was active in promoting biodegradation in the indigenous microbial populations (Barcelona, Kurnool, and Shreve, in preparation).
Journal Articles on this Report : 6 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 8 publications | 6 publications in selected types | All 6 journal articles |
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Finnerty W, Makulla R, Shreve GS. Characterization of a new rhamnolipid complex. I. General physiology. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. |
R827132 (2000) R827132 (2001) R827132 (Final) |
not available |
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Finnerty W, Makulla R, Shreve GS. Characterization of a new rhamnolipid complex. II. Chemical and physical properties. Canadian Journal of Microbiology. |
R827132 (2000) R827132 (2001) R827132 (Final) |
not available |
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Hung HC, Shreve GS. Effect of the hydrocarbon phase on interfacial and thermodynamic properties of two anionic glycolipid biosurfactants in hydrocarbon/water systems. Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2001;105(50):12596-12600. |
R827132 (2000) R827132 (2001) R827132 (Final) |
not available |
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Hung HC, Potoff J, Shreve GS. Equilibrium structure of dodecylbenzyl sulfonate micelles in dodecane/water and benzene/water systems. Journal of the American Chemical Society. |
R827132 (2000) R827132 (2001) R827132 (Final) |
not available |
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Inakollu S, Hung HC, Shreve GS. Biosurfactant enhancement of microbial degradation of various structural classes of hydrocarbon in mixed waste systems. Environmental Engineering Science 2004;21(4):463-469 |
R827132 (Final) |
not available |
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Sekelsky AM, Shreve GS. Kinetic model of biosurfactant enhanced hexadecane biodegradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Biotechnology and Bioengineering 1999;63(4):401-409. |
R827132 (1999) R827132 (2000) R827132 (2001) R827132 (Final) |
not available |
Supplemental Keywords:
biosurfactant specificity, mixed-waste solubilization, micelle characterization, biosurfactant-mediated solubilization, biodegradation, non-aqueous phase liquids, NAPL, source reduction, mechanistic kinetic model, surfactant-mediated HOC transport, microbial biodegradation., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Waste, Toxics, Remediation, chemical mixtures, Ecology, HAPS, Environmental Chemistry, Bioavailability, Bioremediation, biosurfactant specifity, hydrocarbon degrading, kinetic studies, microbial degradation, pollutant mixtures, hydrocarbon, soil characterization, NAPL, polychlorinated biphenyls, biodegradation, fate and transport, chemical transport, NAPLs, micelle solutionsRelevant Websites:
http://www.eng.wayne.edu/chem/faculty/12.htm Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.