Renewable resources for biosurfactant production by Yarrowia lipolytica

Abstract

In this work, the production of a biosurfactant synthesized by Yarrowia lipolytica using different renewable resources as carbon source was investigated. Crude glycerol, a biodiesel co-product, and clarified cashew apple juice (CCAJ), an agroindustrial residue, were applied as feedstocks for the microbial surfactant synthesis. The microorganism was able to grow and produce biosurfactant on CCAJ and crude glycerol, achieving maximum emulsification indexes of 68.0% and 70.2% and maximum variations in surface tension of 18.0 mN.m -1 and 22.0 mN.m -1, respectively. Different organic solvents (acetone, ethyl acetate and chloroform-methanol) were tested for biosurfactant extraction. Maximum biosurfactant recovery was obtained with chloroform-methanol (1:1), reaching 6.9 g.L -1 for experiments using CCAJ and 7.9 g.L -1 for media containing crude glycerol as carbon source. The results herein obtained indicate that CCAJ and the co-product of biodiesel production are appropriate raw materials for biosurfactant production by Y. lipolytica.