Physicochemical Properties of Biosurfactant Produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens Grown on Whey Tofu

Abstract

The research aims to examine the physicochemical properties of biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens. Biosurfactant was produced in whey tofu media containing 8 g/L nutrient broth and 5 g/L NaCl which was fermented for 2 days at room temperature. Biosurfactant was identified as rhamnolipids which had critical micelle concentration (CMC) value of 638 mg/L and surface tension of 54 mN/m. The biosurfactant had water in oil (w/o) emulsion type. The biosurfactant was able to decrease the interfacial tension more than 40% for emulsion of water with hexane, pentane, benzene, lubricants or kerosene. The stable emulsions were reached up to 30 days with the E24 value of about 50% when paraffin, toluene, lubricants or palm oil was used as an immiscible compound. Commercial surfactants, such as Triton X-100 and Tween-80 were investigated to compare their emulsification activities and emulsion stabilities with the produced biosurfactant.