Production of a Biosurfactant from Torulopsis bombicola

Abstract

Two types of carbon sources—carbohydrate and vegetable oil—are necessary to obtain large yields of biosurfactant from Torulopsis bombicola ATCC 22214. Most of the surfactant is produced in the late exponential phase of growth. It is possible to grow the yeast on a single carbon source and then add the other type of substrate, after the exponential growth phase, and cause a burst of surfactant production. This product is a mixture of glycolipids. The maximum yield is 70 g liter⁻¹, or 35% of the weight of the substrate used. An economic comparison demonstrated that this biosurfactant could be produced significantly more cheaply than any of the previously reported microbial surfactants.