In recent years, increasing interest has been shown in the use of bioemulsifiers as washing agents that
can enhance desorption of soil-bound metals. However, high production costs derived from the use
of expensive substrates for formulation of the fermentation media represent the main challenge for
full, large-scale implementation of bioemulsifiers. This work reports on a first study of bioemulsifier
production by the actinobacterium Amycolatopsis tucumanensis DSM 45259 using different carbon and
nitrogen sources. Preliminary results on the potential use of these compounds as washing agents for soils
contaminated with Cu(II) and Cr(VI) are also presented. The best specific production was detected using
glycerol and urea as carbon and nitrogen substrates, respectively. However, with all of the substrates
used during the batch assay, the bioemulsifiers showed high levels of stability at extreme conditions of
pH, temperature, and salt concentration. Under the current assay conditions, the bioemulsifiers were
not effective in removing Cu(II) from soil. However, they were able to mediate Cr(VI) recovery, with the
removal percentage doubled compared to that seen when using deionized water. These findings appear
promising for the development of remediation technologies for hexavalent chromium compounds based
upon direct use of these microbial emulsifiers