Waste derived-green and sustainable production of Sophorolipid

Abstract

Bio-surfactants are of importance due to their advantages in environmental compatibility, high biodegradability, low toxicity, high selectivity, specific activity, etc. compared to those of synthetic surfactants. Due to their eco-friendly character the demand for bio-surfactants is ascending. Bio-surfactants show applications in sectors such as medicine, personal care, paints, textile, pharmaceutics, etc. Sophorolipids (SLs) are effective surfactants and display promising applications as antimicrobial agents and in skin-healing properties. The present study involves synthesis of sophorolipids using waste syrup of Jaggery plant, non-edible Jaggery, oleic acid and corn oil. The synthesized sophorolipid was purified by solvent extraction & column chromatography. At an optimum combination of medium constituents, the yeast Starmerella bombicola (ATCC 22214) produced maximum yield of 42.9 ​g/L of bio-surfactant at optimized pH control level. Sophorolipid was identified and purified by silica gel column chromatography and characterized using thin layer chromatography (TLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). The surfactant properties of Sophorolipids such as surface tension, interfacial tension, foam stabilization, emulsification, and wetting were studied.

Keywords

• Sophorolipids
• Waste Jaggery
• Corn oil
• Oleic acid
• Surfactants properties
• Starmerella bombicola (ATCC 22214)