Palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) is produced after the refining process of crude palm oil. PFAD contains fats that are undesirable in the food industry and need to be removed during the palm oil refining process, to ensure the palm oil meets food industry quality standards. In this study, PFAD and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) are used by P. aeruginosa PAO1 to produce rhamnolipid biosurfactant. The process of fermentation producing of biosurfactant was structured in a 2 L bioreactor using 2% of PFAD and FAME as carbon sources in a minimal medium and with a nitrogen concentration of 1 g L−1. Mass spectrometry results show the crude biosurfactant produced was predominantly monorhamnolipid (Rha-C10-C10) and dirhamnolipid (Rha-Rha-C10-C10) at 503 and 649 m/z value for both substrates. Maximum production of crude rhamnolipid for PFAD was 1.06 g L−1 whereas for FAME it was 2.1 g L−1, with a reduction in surface tension of Tris-HCl pH 8.0 solution to 28 mN m−1 and a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 26 mg L−1 measured for both products. Furthermore, the 24 h emulsification indexes in kerosene, hexadecane, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil using 1 g L−1 of crude rhamnolipid were in the range 20–50%. Consequently, PFAD and FAME, by-products from the agricultural refining of palm oil, may result in a product that has a higher added-value, rhamnolipid biosurfactant, in the process of integrated biorefinery.

Overview of rhamnolipid production using palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD)

Mohd Nazren Radzuan., James Winterburn., Ibrahim Banat (2021). Bioreactor Rhamnolipid Production Using Palm Oil Agricultural Refinery By-Products. Processes 9(11): 2037

Full article:  https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9112037

Date of Input: 23/05/2023 | Updated: 23/05/2023 | ainzubaidah