Biosurfactants for the Biobased Economy

This book provides a comprehensive overview of current biosurfactant research and applications. Public awareness of environmental issues has increased significantly over the last decade, a trend that has been accompanied by industry demands for climate-friendly and environmentally friendly renewable raw materials. In the context of household products, biosurfactants could potentially meet this demand in the future due to their low ecotoxicity, excellent biodegradability, and use of renewable raw materials. The diversity of this class of molecules, which has only been marginally tapped to date, offers only an inkling of their future application potential. However, there are two main obstacles to their widespread commercial use on the growing surfactant market: the lack of attractive and competitive production technologies, and the limited structural diversity of commercially available biosurfactants. Addressing both of these core issues, this book will provide readers with a deeper understanding of the role of biosurfactants, including future opportunities and challenges.

Auteur

Rudolf Hausmann is a Professor of Bioprocess Engineering at the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany). His main research topics include microbial surfactants, bioeconomy and bioprocessing. With 10+ years of experience, he also worked as Development Engineer at the Central Process Development Department from Merck KGaA, as a Researcher at the Institute of Biochemical Engineering from the University of Stuttgart (Germany) and as an Assistant Professor and Lecturer in the field of Technical Biology at the Institute of Bio- and Food Technology from the University of Karlsruhe (Germany).

Marius Henkel is a Scientist and Lecturer at the Department of Bioprocess Engineering from the University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart (Germany). His current research focuses on microbial surfactants, bioprocess modelling and control, and bioeconomy. He worked previously as a Researcher at the Institute of Process Engineering in Life Sciences, Section Technical Biology from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, where he did PhD graduation with the dissertation: Layered Modeling and Simulation of Complex Biotechnological Processes - Optimizing Rhamnolipid Production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa during Cultivation in a Bioreactor.