Surfactant‐enhanced biodegradation of solid alkanes

Abstract

In this study, the effect of two commercially available non‐ionic surfactants, Triton X‐100 and Tween‐80, on the rate of biodegradation of octadecane by four bacterial strains was investigated. Two of the bacterial strains, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 9027) and Rhodococcus erythropolis, were stimulated by surfactant addition to mineralize octadecane at a faster rate than in the absence of surfactant amendment. The addition of Triton X‐100 and Tween‐80 to two Acinetobacter strains had no effect on their rate of mineralization of octadecane. The rate of mineralization without surfactant amendment was much faster for the two Acinetobacter strains than for the other strains. The cell surface hydrophobicities of all strains were measured using the bacterial adherence to hydrocarbon assay. The results indicated that the Acinetobacter strains were very hy‐drophobic while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Rhodococcus erythropolis were both hydrophilic. These results suggest that surfactant‐enhanced bioremediation may be correlated with cell surface hydrophobicity.