Microbial Surfactants: Volume 2: Applications in Food and Agriculture

Biosurfactants are surface-active biomolecules produced by a wide  variety of microorganisms. They can be produced from renewable sources,  and possess high surface activity, high specificity, low toxicity,  tolerance to pH, temperature and ionic strength, biodegradability,  excellent emulsifying and demulsifying ability and antimicrobial  activity. Biosurfactants have found applications in several industries  including organic chemicals, petrochemicals, mining, metallurgy (mainly  bioleaching), agrochemicals, fertilizers, foods, beverages, cosmetics,  pharmaceuticals and many others.

The main aim of this volume is  to highlight concepts, classifications, production and applications of  microbial surfactants in food and agriculture. The book provides a  comprehensive coverage of fermentation, recovery, genomics and  metagenomics of biosurfactant production. It is presented in an  easy-to-understand manner, and includes protocols, figures, and recent  data on the industrial demand market and economics, and the production  of biosurfactants from novel substrates are particularly worthwhile  additions. The volume will be useful for students, researchers,  teachers, and entrepreneurs in the area of microbial biosurfactants and  their applications in food and agriculture.