BIODEGRADATION OF POLYCHLORINATED-BIPHENYLS (PCBS) IN THE PRESENCE OFA BIOEMULSIFIER PRODUCED ON SUNFLOWER OIL

A bioemulsifier excreting bacterium of the species Peudomonas cepacia was isolated after a screening procedure using n-dodecane as carbon so urce. The partly purified bioemulsifier was preliminarily identified a s a mixture of glycolipids. A decrease of the surface tension to 37 mN /m and a CMC of 5 mg/l could be measured with the bioemulsifier GL-K12 . Using sunflower oil as main carbon source, up to 7.1 g/l bioemulsifi er could be produced in oxygen and nitrogen limited fermentations on a scale of 300 l. The biodegradation of Aroclor 1242 in liquid cultures by a bacterial mixed population was enhanced by GL-K12 when added at biosurfactant concentrations of 0.2 g/l or more. The most positive eff ect was noted in the degradation of PCB congeners with 3 Cl atoms with an increase of up to 100%.