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KdG Dep. IWT Onderzoek > Biomel
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BIOMEL - Fermentative production and application of
Mannosyl Erythritol Lipid Biosurfactants
The large majority of the currently used surfactants are petroleum-based and are produced by chemical means. These compounds are often ecotoxic and their use may lead to significant ecological problems. The ecotoxicity, bioaccumulation and biodegradability are therefore important issues of increasing concern. The last decennium glycolipid biosurfactants have remarkably increased their market share. They offer a vast improved environmental compatibility, combined with excellent functional properties in laundry, food and cosmetic applications. Whereas the first generation is obtained from renewable resources through chemical synthesis, the second generation is obtained from renewable resources through biotechnological means. Indeed, glycolipids produced by fermentation are now entering the market, particularly rhamnolipids and sophorolipids. A third group of glycolipids which exhibit excellent surface activity (biosurfactants), biocompatibility and biodegradability, mannosyl erythritol lipids (MEL’s), is not yet commercialized, but has recently gained reasonable interest due to their various applications such as pharmaceuticals, as a chemical tool for purification of proteins, or as an anti-agglomeration agent of ice-water slurry. Especially bioremediation of hydrocarbons or crude oil as a friendly decontamination technology is an interesting field of application. Often encountered disadvantages of this very promising biotensides include expensive substrates and complex purification with solvent waste production. In order to reduce the costs of both biosurfactant production and downstream processing, waste streams such as biodiesel by-product streams (raw glycerol) can be used in combination with waste edible oils or even biofuel fatty esters.
The targets:
The purpose of this project is the fermentative bioconversion of value-added biodegradable MEL’s under consideration of performance optimisation and cost minimalisation.
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