Effect of Biosurfactant Addition on the Biodegradation of Phenanthrene in Soil-water System

Abstract

The extent of solubility enhancement by biosurfactant was examined at various pHs prior to the biodegradation experiments. The molar solubilization ratio (MSR) was calculated from the batch solubilization experiments and the highest MSR was detected at pH 5. The effect of the biosurfactant, rhamnolipids, on the phenanthrene mineralization in soil-water system was investigated. The strain 3Y was selected for the mineralization assay and large amounts of phenanthrene were degraded at neutral pH in soil-water system without the biosurfactant. The addition of 150 mg/L rhamnolipids showed no effect on mineralization of phenanthrene in soil-water system, and total mineralization rates after 6 weeks incubation at each pH showed no differences in presence and absence of rhamnolipids. Our result indicated that the toxic effect of rhamnolipids can disappear when soil particles exist, and also the enhanced solubility of phenanthrene does not work for mineralization enhancement in this soil-water system.