Pradnya A. Joshi and Dhiraj B. Shekhawat
Biosurfactant reduce surface tension of both aqueous solutions and hydrocarbon mixtures. In this study, isolation and identification of biosurfactant producing strain were assessed. Soil samples from 45 petrol pumps and 75 garages in Kalyan area were collected. To confirm the ability of isolates to produce biosurfactant, oil displacement test, measurement of surface tension and E24 test were conducted. The isolate DB1 from Dombivli petrol pump was found to be the potent biosurfactant producer. This isolate gave a maximum biomass and biosurfactant yield of 1.72 g/L-1 and 0.68 g/L-1 respectively. With 16s rRNA analysis the isolate DB1 was identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri. The thin layer chromatography analysis revealed the polymeric nature of the biosurfactant. The biosurfactant was found to emulsify various hydrocarbon. This ability of the isolate can be utilized in environment clean up procedures.
