- Biosurfactants are compounds produced by some bacteria that replicate the properties of petroleum-based surfactants.
- While many research studies have explored different bacteria grown on different medium, fish waste is proving to be a viable option to grow microbes for industrial-scale biosurfactant production.
- The Scottish start-up company, Eco Clean Team, has partnered with a researcher at the University of St. Andrews to develop a pilot project for scaling biosurfactant production with fish oil from the local aquaculture industry.
- While many hurdles remain, the biosurfactant industry and fish peptone industry are both on the upswing.
In 2010, Deep Water Horizon released over 130 million gallons of oil, the equivalent to 200 Olympic-sized swimming pools, into the Gulf of Mexico. Twenty years earlier, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran aground in Alaska, releasing 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound.
Oil spills harm marine plants and animals, and render seafood unsafe to eat. Environmental remediators apply different techniques, including skimming and burning, to remove oil pollution from the water’s surface; however, synthetic dispersants created using petrochemicals, paradoxically, are the best means of clean-up. They reduce the opportunity for the contaminant to reach the shoreline by dispersing the oil and breaking it up into smaller droplets that are easier for microbes to consume. However, research shows synthetic surfactants are often toxic to marine organisms, changing their behavior, physiology, and reproduction patterns. These adverse effects raise concerns about which is worse for the environment — the dispersants applied to break up an oil slick or the oil itself.
Synthetic surfactants are a common class of molecules found in laundry and dishwashing detergents, among other household products. They are ubiquitous in our lives, yet they rarely garner the negative attention of an oil spill, because they are typically unseen. Although, in many instances synthetic surfactants are more pervasive and insidious to the environment.
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