Paenibacillus sp. #510 was found to produce an extracellular
emulsifying agent (bioemulsifier). The bioemulsifier
production was studied using MSS medium (with and
without sucrose) supplemented with paraffin (5% w/v)
or crude oil (5% w/v) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions.
The results obtained are shown in Table 1.
The use of paraffin or crude oil as sole carbon sources
yielded no growth. However, the addition of paraffin or
crude oil to the culture medium containing sucrose resulted
in emulsification values higher than those obtained
without hydrocarbons, both under aerobic and
anaerobic conditions (Table 1). Therefore, both hydrocarbons
induced the bioemulsifier production by Paenibacillus
sp. #510. The best emulsifying activity