The objective of this work was to investigate, on a flask scale, the production of bioemulsifiers by Yarrowia lipolytica in the presence of sea water, supplemented with nitrogen and phosphate sources, using diesel oil as substrate. A full 2(4) factorial design was conducted to investigate the effects and interactions of the nutrient concentrations (diesel oil, urea, ammonium sulfate and monobasic potassium phosphate) on the response variables: emulsification activity and surface tension of the cell-free cultures. High emulsification activities (> 5,4 UEA) were determined after 168 h in all the experiments. The interactions among diesel oil, urea and monobasic potassium phosphate favored the emulsification with statistical significance. A correlation between the increase of emulsification activity and the reduction of surface tension was not identified.
Biosurfactant; Bioemulsifier; Diesel oil; Sea water; Yarrowia lipolytica; Factorial design
