Application of oil refinery waste in the biosynthesis of glycolipids by yeast

Candida antarctica or Candida apicola synthesized surfactants (glycolipids) in the cultivation medium supplemented with oil refinery waste, either with soapstock (from 5.0% to 12.0% v/v) or post-refinery fatty acids (from 2.0% to 5.0% v/v). The efficiency of glycolipids synthesis was determined by the amount of waste supplemented to the medium and was from 7.3 to 13.4 g/l and from 6.6 to 10.5 g/l in the medium supplemented with soapstock and post-refinery fatty acids, respectively. The studied yeast also synthesized glycolipids in the non-supplemented medium however, by the enrichment of medium with the oil refinery waste, a 7.5-8.5-fold greater concentration of glycolipids was obtained in the post-culture liquid then in the medium without addition of oil refinery waste. The yeast synthesized from 6.6 to 10.3 g dry biomass/l and the intra-cellular fat content was from 16.8% to 30.2%. The efficiency of glycolipids synthesis was determined by yeast species, medium acidity and culture period. The surface tension of the post-culture liquid separated from yeast biomass was reduced to 35.6 mN/m, which corresponded to the surface tension obtained at the critical micelle concentration of glycolipids. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.