Enhancing Production of Biosurfactants for Xenobiotic Re- mediation

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This is an award to support research on a concept for removing organic contaminants from soil using microorganisms with natural ability to attack the organic compounds adsorbed on soil particles and to determine whether biological degradation could be enhanced by presence of surfactants. The investigator plans on establishing a defined model system consisting of a naphthalene saturated soil and an organism known to efficiently degrade this compound. He then plans to evaluate the effects of synthetic surfactants on their ability to degrade this compound and to determine whether bacteria known to produce surfactants could be utilized in place of the synthetic surfactants to accomplish the same end result more efficiently and effectively. This proposal was submitted in response to Program Announcement NSF 88-99, Research Initiation Awards. Results are expected to improve the engineering design of biologically-based remediation, potentially coupled to chemical and/or physical systems for removing contaminants from soil that are likely contaminants of groundwater.