REMEDIATION OF SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY FRACTION HYDROCARBONS USING BIOSURFACTANTPRODUCED BYPSEUDOMONAS SP.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of the biosurfactant generated by a strain of Pseudomonas sp. in the removal of heavy fraction hydrocarbons from a soil contaminated with 28,000 mg/kg, by a washing process. The efficacy of the biosurfactant was compared to that of a chemical surfactant, used at a concentration of 0.1%. After five wash cycles, the biosurfactant reached a maximum removal efficiency of 42.71%, in contrast to that of the chemical surfactant, 32.31%. In addition, bioaugmentation with the culture medium used for the production of the biosurfactant was evaluated, with a removal of 38.29% of these hydrocarbons in 90 days.