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What is the difference between biosurfactant and bioflocculants?
Biosurfactants are surface-active agents that reduce surface tension, while bioflocculants are substances that cause particles to clump together and settle. Biosurfactants help in emulsification and dispersion while bioflocculants aid in sedimentation and removal of suspended particles in water treatment processes. Both play important roles in environmental applications such as wastewater treatment and bioremediation.
What are the industial applications of rhodotorula?
Rhodotorula is used in industrial applications such as production of carotenoids, biosurfactants, and single-cell proteins. It is also used in the bioremediation of heavy metals and organic pollutants due to its ability to tolerate harsh environmental conditions.
How do scientists produce oil-eating bacteria?
When A. borkumensis bacteria use alkanes as their source of energy, each cell forms a biosurfactant (other sources of energy do not cause the bacteria to produce this biosurfactant). A biosurfactant is an extra layer of material forms along the cell membrane. The substances that make up the biosurfactant of A. borkumensis can reduce the surface tension of water, which helps with the degradation of oil. They are also emulsifiers, which further serve to break up the oil/water emulsion, making oil more soluble. A. borkumensis forms a biofilm (a wall of cells) around an oil droplet in seawater and proceeds to use biosurfactants and metabolism to degrade the oil into a water-soluble substance.[4]
