Biodegradation of Waste Lubricant Oil by a Novel Isolated Biosurfactant Producer- Achromobacter xylosoxidans PSA5

AbstractWaste lubricant oil (WLO) is a critical environmental issue because of its recycle and disposal challenges. A potent biosurfactant-producing bacterial strain was isolated by the enrichment culture technique using WLO as the sole carbon source from the oil-contaminated soils. The strain was identified as Achromobacter xylosoxidans (NCBI GenBank accession number: MW673656) based on the morphological, biochemical, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The preliminary characterization of the produced biosurfactant by biochemical methods revealed its glycolipid nature. The strain possessed extensive biodegradative potential and degraded various components present in WLO. The gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis showed that the strain could degrade hydrocarbons (C7-C22) and diethyl phthalate, a priority pollutant, with a relative degradation of 43.87% within 7 days of incubation. The biodegradation of WLO by the strain confers its use in the bioremediation of oil-polluted environments, and the simultaneous biosurfactant production is undoubtedly a step toward greener technology.Keywords: Biosurfactantwaste lubricant oilbiodegradationGC-MSAchromobacter xylosoxidansgreen technology AcknowledgmentsThe authors acknowledge the financial support from the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India, New Delhi, under file number 43-75/2014 (SR). The authors thank the Department of Biotechnology, School of Science, Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM), Deemed to be University, Visakhapatnam, for providing the facilities to carry out the study. The authors acknowledge using Servier Medical Art image bank to create part of Figure 6b, provided by Servier, licensed under a Creative Common Attribution 3.0 unported license.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.