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Biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the presence of a bioemulsifier produced on sunflower oil

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Abstract

A bioemulsifier excreting bacterium of the species Peudomonas cepacia was isolated after a screeningprocedure using n-dodecane as carbon source. Thepartly purified bioemulsifier was preliminarily identifiedas a mixture of glycolipids. A decrease of the surfacetension to 37 mN/m and a CMC of 5 mg/l could bemeasured with the bioemulsifier GL-K12. Usingsunflower oil as main carbon source, up to 7.1 g/lbioemulsifier could be produced in oxygen and nitrogenlimited fermentations on a scale of 300 l. Thebiodegradation of Aroclor 1242 in liquid cultures by abacterial mixed population was enhanced by GL-K12when added at biosurfactant concentrations of 0.2 g/l ormore. The most positive effect was noted in thedegradation of PCB congeners with 3 Cl atoms with anincrease of up to 100%.

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Author notes

  1. Rainer Fiebig & Detlef Schulze

    Present address: UVT-Ingenieurbüro f. Umwelt-u. Verfahrenstechnik, Richard-Sorge-Str. 11, D-10249, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fachgebiet Technische Biochemie, Technische Universität, Seestr. 13, D-13353, Berlin, Germany

    Rainer Fiebig & Detlef Schulze

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Yunsei University, 234 Maejiri Peungupmeun, Wonju, 210-710, Korea

    Jae-Chun Chung

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 373-1, Taejon, 305-701, Korea

    Sung-Taik Lee

Authors
  1. Rainer Fiebig
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  2. Detlef Schulze
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  3. Jae-Chun Chung
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  4. Sung-Taik Lee
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Fiebig, R., Schulze, D., Chung, JC. et al. Biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the presence of a bioemulsifier produced on sunflower oil. Biodegradation 8, 67–75 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008256110136

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