Remediation of Waste Engine Oil Contaminated Soil using Rhamnolipid based Detergent Formulation

The utilization of waste substrates for rhamnolipid synthesis is a worthy alternative to conventional substrates to reduce the production cost of rhamnolipids. Rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa gi |KP 163922| using waste engine oil as substrate was investigated in batch and semi-batch studies for soil bioremediation. Green liquid detergent formulations were prepared by using environment-friendly builder (sodium citrate) and filler (isopropyl alcohol). Rhamnolipid, a biosurfactant was utilized in place of chemical surfactant to prepare the liquid detergent formulation. The formulations at different rhamnolipid concentrations i.e., below critical micelle concentration (CMC), at CMC, and above CMC, were tested for soil remediation efficiency. Each detergent formulation was characterized based on emulsification index (EI24%), surface tension reduction, foam ability, and foam stability. The in-house rhamnolipid based formulations above CMC, recovered oil up to 82.02 ± 0.938 % from contaminated soil with maximum surface tension reduction and foam volume as 26.5 ± 0.412 mN/m and 51.10 ± 1.37 mL respectively. The proposed remediation strategy demonstrated that the recovery of oil is possible at room temperature conditions. The performance properties including detergency and foaming of rhamnolipid based liquid detergent formulations were also compared with commercial rhamnolipid and other detergents.