The role of biosurfactants in soil remediation

Biosurfactants are promising compounds in the process of soil remediation because of their natural origin and amphiphilic structure as well as beneficial physicochemical and technological properties. They are capable to remove toxic substances (heavy metals, crude oil, hydrocarbons and their derivatives) from contaminated soil using various mechanisms of action, such as mobilization, solubilization, complexation, emulsification. Moreover, natural surfactants cooperate with microorganisms in the process of bioremediation and increase the bioavailability of organic pollutants for their cells. They also affect the microbial cell surface properties and the cellular phospholipid membrane and in this way they can enhance the intracellular transport leading to the increase in biodegradation rate. In this paper, the origin, structures and resulting properties of biosurfactants were described to understand their mechanisms of action in soil remediation, especially in removing of organic pollutants and heavy metals. The examples of their practical application in soil bioremediation were also presented.