%0 Journal Article
%T Jatropha Oil Derived Sophorolipids: Production and Characterization as Laundry Detergent Additive
%A Kasturi Joshi-Navare
%A Poonam Khanvilkar
%A Asmita Prabhune
%J Biochemistry Research International
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/169797
%X Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipidic biosurfactants suitable for various biological and physicochemical applications. The nonedible Jatropha oil has been checked as the alternative raw material for SL synthesis using C. bombicola (ATCC22214). This is useful towards lowering the SL production cost. Through optimization of fermentation parameters and use of resting cell method, the yield 15.25£¿g/L could be achieved for Jatropha oil derived SL (SLJO) with 1% v/v oil feeding. The synthesized SL displayed good surfactant property. It reduced the surface tension of distilled water from 70.7£¿mN/m to 33.5£¿mN/m with the Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) value of 9.5£¿mg/L. Keeping the prospective use of the SL in mind, the physicochemical properties were checked along with emulsion stability under temperature, pH stress, and in hard water. Also antibacterial action and stain removal capability in comparison with commercial detergent was demonstrated. SLJO enhanced the detergent performance. Based on the results, it can be said that SLs have utility as fabric cleaner with advantageous properties such as skin friendly nature, antibacterial action, and biodegradability. Therefore SLs are potential green molecules to replace synthetic surfactants in detergents so as to reduce harm caused to environment through detergent usage. 1. Introduction In terms of production volume, surfactants belong to the most important classes of industrial chemicals with a current total world production exceeding 13 million tonnes per year [1]. About half that volume is used in household and laundry detergents and the other half in a wide variety of industrial sectors, particularly the chemical, textile, food, and paper industry, cosmetics, personal, and health care, agriculture, and so forth. The majority of the currently used surfactants are petroleum-based and are produced by chemical means. These compounds are often toxic to the environment, and their use may lead to significant ecological problems, particularly in washing applications as these surfactants inevitably end up in the environment after use [2]. The ecotoxicity, bioaccumulation, and biodegradability of surfactants are therefore issues of increasing concern. Phosphates are being recognized as one of the essential nutrients contributing to the eutrophication and detergents are one of the many sources of phosphate discharged to the environment [3]. Therefore attempts should be made to reduce the detergent load in to the environment. In this scenario the biosurfactants are promising alternatives to synthetic surfactants as
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bri/2013/169797/