ABSTRACT
Surfactants-with a worldwide production of approximately 19 million tons in the year 2008are an important class of products in chemical industry.1 According to the amphiphilic structure of surfactants, there are many applications in the detergent, cosmetic, food, environmental, and biomedical industries. Apart from soaps that are mainly based on vegetable oil, the production of conventional surfactants is predominantly based on petroleum. Owing to depleting fossil resources and the increasing importance of environmental concerns such as biodegradability, safety, and sustainability from the consumers, biosurfactants based on renewable resources have a large market potential2,3 and hence, has gained more attention in scientic and industrial research (Figure 9.1). An increasing number of publications deal with biosurfactants in general, whereas about half of them address purication of biosurfactants.
