Enhanced Biodegradation of Contaminated Soil by Biosurfactant, Sophorolipid

Bioremediation techniques have proved to be effective for restoring petroleum-contaminated soils. however some limitations still exist, especially biodegradation of hydrophobic organic compounds(HOCs) in soil is limited by their low solubility and sorption to solid surfaces. The principal objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of biosurfactant sophorolipid on the biodegradation of hydrocarbons in soil. Experimental results showed that sophorolipid was not toxic to the HOC-degrading bacteria and enhanced biodegradation of HOCs in soil better than synthetic surfactants. when these models were treated with 1000mg/soil kg sophorolipid.