Screening of soil bacteria for production of biocleaner

Soil bacteria were studied for the production of biodegradable cleaning agents. Among 86 bacterial strains resistant to liquid paraffin, 58 showed hemolytic activity. These strains were cultured, and the supernatant of culture broths was evaluated for cleaning activity against a dirty porcelain tile. Potent activity was exhibited in 18 strains. The lowest value of surface tension was obtained from Bacillus sp. NKB03 suggesting the presence of a biosurfactant. Aeromonas sp. NKB26c and Bacillus cereus NKB46b exhibited enzymatic cleaning activity. A cleaning efficiency of 82% was achieved when using a mixture of supernatants from culture broths of Bacillus sp. NKB03 and Aeromonas sp. NKB26c in synthetic minimal media. The cleaning efficiency using this mixture was higher than that of sodium dodecyl sulfate. These results suggest that a mixture of supernatants from culture broths of Bacillus sp. NKB03 and Aeromonas sp. NKB26c has potential for commercial use as a biocleaner.