Biosurfactants from Processed Wastes

Abstract

Better waste management and economic biosurfactant production have been achieved when scientific studies were piloted concentrating on the three ‘R’ principles: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Waste products from various industries and processes when selected as low-cost substrates having proper nutrient balance for biosurfactant production, biotechnological research contributed a substantial share to its environmental preservation strategies. Utilization of a variety of natural waste materials as alternative cost-effective carbon sources for the economic production of biosurfactants generates a high-value biotechnological product with the potential industrial application and, moreover, a process that can contribute to decreasing the disposal of wastes into the environment. Even though it is a fact that these biosurfactants derived from renewable raw materials are coming progressively on to the market, their growth and development need extensive cooperation across disciplines in order to fully characterize them and identify their potential uses in various sectors and industries.