Enhanced aqueous solubilization of tetrachloroethylene by a rhamnolipid biosurfactant.

A rhamnolipid biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027 was isolated, purified and characterized in terms of its ability to mobilize and solubilize tetrachloroethylene (PCE) for potential use in surfactant-enhanced aquifer remediation (SEAR) applications. Using a drop volume method, the PCE-biosurfactant steady-state interfacial tension was determined and found to be ca. 10 mN/m which is not low enough to cause significant PCE nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) mobilization. It was observed that the biosurfactant partitioned significantly into PCE at aqueous concentrations higher than the critical micelle concentration (CMC). After accounting for rhamnolipid partitioning into the PCE phase, a weight solubilization ratio (WSR) of 1.2 g(PCE)/g(rhamnolipid) was determined and through this mechanism the biosurfactant significantly improved the apparent aqueous solubility of PCE.