To Evaluate the Potential of Isolated Lipolytic Bacterial Strains for Bioremediation of Vegetable Oil Industry Wastewater and for Biodiesel Production

Abstract

Bioremediation and biodiesel production are two of the best solutions to eliminate oil pollution in naturally occurring waterbodies and to overcome energy crisis respectively. In this study the application feasibility of lipase producing bacterial strains was evaluated for simultaneous bioremediation of oil contaminated wastewater and biodiesel production from non-edible oil. Efficient lipase producing bacteria were isolated from the wastewater of a local vegetable oil industry. These strains were then investigated for their potential to remediate (COD reduction) oil containing wastewater. These isolated strains were then further evaluated for their potential to synthesize biodiesel from mustard, soybean, jatropha and taramira oils utilizing methanol for the transesterification of oils. Selected strain was then identified using 16s rRNA sequencing to be Bacillus subtilis strain Q1 and optimized for biodiesel production from non-edible taramira oil. Finally, simultaneous bioremediation of vegetable oil contaminated wastewater and microbial production of biodiesel from non-edible taramira oil was carried out using efficient lipase producer Bacillus subtilis strain Q1.