MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55


MALAYSIAN JOURNAL OF BIOCHEMISTRY &
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
The Official Publication of The Malaysian Society For Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
(MSBMB)
http://mjbmb.org

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF VEGETABLE OILS: A REVIEW

Salihu Ibrahim1,2, Mohd Yunus Abd Shukor1, Nur Adeela Yazid1,3 and Siti Aqlima Ahmad1,3*
1
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang,
Selangor, Malaysia
2
Centre for Biotechnology Research, Bayero University PMB 3011 Kano, Nigeria.
3
National Antarctic Research Centre, B303 Level 3, Block B, IPS Building, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

*Corresponding Author: aqlima@upm.edu.my

History
Received: 1st October 2018
Accepted: 9th November 2018
Keywords:
Vegetable oils, biodegradation,
environment, wastewater, specific, eco-
friendly
REVIEW ARTICLE
Abstract
The use of vegetable oils by man dates back to ancient times. When spilt into the environment
with wastewater derived from kitchens, restaurants and food processing industries led to serious
anthropogenic problems can occur, such as blocking of pipes, depleting oxygen, oil film
formation, odour problems, and congest treatment filters thus killing the marine organisms
livings. Their specific properties and chemical composition have allowed them to be used as
food, lubricants, fuels and in the manufacturing of agrochemicals, plasticisers, inks, and
coatings. As such, biodegradation of vegetable oils contaminated water is very important
because of its related negative effects. Microbial degradation is considered as the most effective
technique in degrading vegetable oils within the environment. Even though there are other
available methods for degrading vegetable oils using thermal degradation techniques like
spectrophotometric methods, but the oil involves various modifications, thus causing lack of
accuracy/specificity. Microbial vegetable oil degradation has been labelled as efficient as it is
specific, reducing time management, eco-friendly, easy to be used, disease free and cost
effective which effectively reduces chemical oxygen demand and suspended lipid solids
compared to thermal methods. Many aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms capable of
degrading vegetable oils have been well studied in fungal and bacterial strains mostly from the
genus Rhodococcus and others such as Pseudomonas, Enterobacter aerogenes, Arthrobacter,
Bacillus, Serratia, Staphylococcus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor, Burkholderia sp.,
Acinetobacteria, Penicllium chrysogenum, and Lactobacillus sp.

annually manufacture of these materials was more than 110

INTRODUCTION
Vegetable oils have been used by man for many decades in
various ways [1, 2]. The specific properties and chemical
composition of vegetable oils have allowed them to be utilised as
food, lubricants, fuels and also in the manufacture of
agrochemicals, plasticisers, inks and coatings [3, 4]. They are
naturally striking substances which comprising mainly esters of
fatty acids and glycerol. Their sources comprise of vegetable
substances, marine and animal origin. Precisely, vegetable oils are
natural products of plant origin consisting of mixtures of ester
resulting from trihydroxy glycerol with 14 - 20 carbon atoms in
the fatty acids chain length and contain different double bonds [5].
In 2000, the production of vegetable oils accounted for about 17.4
kg per year per capita and it is expected that these numbers will
increase at a rate of 3.3% per year. In 2002, the entire global
million tons. Vegetable oils constitute about 80% which is the
main portion of this manufacture while the residual 20% being
animal fats). Just about 15% (15.6 million tons) of these raw
materials are used as a source for the production of new chemical
materials and commodities. The remaining 5% for animal and
80% human consumption [1].
Different vegetable oils come about due to several
different types of fatty acids that can be combined in a various
number of ways on the glycerol hydroxyl groups. Furthermore,
the physical properties of vegetable oils depend on the types of
fatty acid (saturated, unsaturated or both) involved in the ester.
Hence, the traditional distinction of oil as liquid and fat as solid
develops from the different chemical structures of the different
fatty acids combined in the esters; the existing bonding force
differs in strength, thus resulting in different melting points. These
distinctions are exhibited in different chain lengths, the existence

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 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55

of unsaturation or otherwise as well as geometric conformations
[3, 6]. The present importance on preservation and
environmentally friendly: non-toxic, renewable, biodegradable,
eco-friendly has brought about a new area in the use of natural oils
for non-edible purposes [7]. Charley, [8] reported that when
compared with other mineral oils, natural oils demonstrated their
well-known superiority in terms of biodegradability, and in
addition to the fact that they are renewable and mostly non-toxic
has focused attention on technologies that would enhance their
effectiveness as industrial lubricants and biofuels [9]. The case of
vegetable oil spill has also been a concerned subject by some
researchers including the bioremediating process of vegetable oils
spill [10 – 12]. Hence, this review aimed at reporting various
degradation works of vegetable oils by bacteria.
Properties of Vegetable Oils
The properties of vegetable oils are directly proportional to the
fatty composition of triacylglycerols, which are closely related to
their source [2]. Table 1 presents the chemical structure of some
fatty acids, whereas the typical fatty acid composition of some
vegetable oils is shown in Table 2.
(C18:0), palmitic acid (C16:0), Myristic acid (C14:0), lauric
(C12:0) and Butyric acid (C4:0).
Monounsaturated fatty acids are fatty acids with only
one double bond between the carbon atoms. This double bound
can be trans or cis configuration. If stored properly, they can be
relatively resistant to rancidity and are liquid at room temperature.
However, they are less stable to oxidation than saturated fatty
acids [23]. Erucic acid (C22:1), oleic acid (C18:1), and
palmitoleic acid (C16:1) are some of the examples of
monounsaturated fatty acids. Meanwhile, polyunsaturated fatty
acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that are characterised by the
presence of two or more double bonds in their carbon chain and
are typically liquid at room temperature. The higher the number of
unsaturations implies a higher biological and oxidative instability
of polyunsaturated fatty acids [24]. Examples of polyunsaturated
fatty acids are tetracosapentaenoic acid (C24:5), docosatetraenoic
acid (C22:4), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) (C22:5), arachidonic
acid (C20:4), linolenic acid (C18:3) and linoleic acid (C18:2). The
compositions of fatty acids of the oils can be determined by
different analytical methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy [25 – 27], gas chromatography (GC) [28,
29], high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [30, 31],
near-infrared transflectance spectroscopy (NITR) [32], and
Fourier transform infrared spectra [33, 34].

Table 1. Typical composition of vegetable oils [13 – 20]

Fatty Acid Composition (%)
Seed Oil Capric Lauric Myristic Palmitate Palmitoleic Stearic Oleic Linoleic α- Arachidic Gondoic Behenic Erucic Lignoceric Nervonic
(ω6) Linolenic
(ω3)
C10:0 C12:0 C14:0 C16:0 C16:1 C18:0 C18: C18:2 C18:3 C20:0 C20:1 C22:0 C22:1 C24:0 C24:1
1
Canola 4 1.8 63 20 8.6 1.9
Coconut 6 47 18 9 3 6 2
Corn 11 2 29 57 1
Cottonseed 1 22 3 19 54 1
Crambe 1.8 0.7 17.2 8.7 5.2 3.4 56.2 0.7 0.7 1.6
Gingely 8.89 5.43 38.81 46.34 0.94
(Sesame)
Hazehut 5.8 0.2 2.9 82.4 7.9 0.1 0.1 - 0.1 - -
Jatropha 14.2 0.7 7.0 44.7 32.8 0.2 0.2 - - - - -
Curcas
Kalahari 12.4 7.5 17.1 63.1 1.1 0.3
Melon Seed
(Citrullus
lanatus)
Karanja 7.18 3.32 43.99 17.38 5.51 0.78 3.43 2.48 15.90
(Pongamia
Pinnata)
Linseed 6.0 2.5 19.0 24.1 47.4
Mahogany 21.39 10.41 64.62
(Khaya) Seed
Neem Seed 17.8 0.2 17.4 43.5 18.7 0.6 1.3 0.1 0.3
(Azadirachta
indica)
Olive 13.0 3 71 10 1
Palm 1.23 41.78 3.39 41.90 11.03
Palm Kernel 3.5 47.8 16.3 8.4 2.4 15.4 2.4 0.1
Peanut 11 2 48 32
(groundnut)
Rapseed 4 1.5 17 13 9 14.5 41
Soybean 11 4 24 54 7
Sunflower 7 5 19 68 1
Rice Bran 0.21 16.1 1.78 40.5 35.2 1.6 0.61 0.53 0.77 0.41 0.38

Vegetable oils are obtained from oil containing fruits, nuts, or

Fatty acids are carbon chains containing 4 to 24 carbon atoms and
are classified according to the different degrees of unsaturation as
saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated [21]. Saturated
fatty acids are those fatty acids that do not contain any double
bonds between their carbon atoms. They exhibit relatively high
melting points and are the most chemically stable due to the
conformation of the molecule. Therefore, as the number of carbon
chain increase, the melting point of the fatty acid also increased
[22]. Examples of saturated fatty acids include stearic acid
seeds by distinctive solvent extraction, processing methods or a
combination of both [36]. Unrefined oils obtained are exposed to
several refining processes, both chemically and physically. The
vegetable oils properties (chemical and physical) are dependent on
fatty acid distribution. The number of double bonds as well as
their positions within the aliphatic chain strongly affects the
properties of the oil. Table 3 summarises some relevant properties
of common vegetable oils and fatty acids. The actual number of
carbon atoms making up the aliphatic chains performs an
extremely less significant part, simply because most of these

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 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55

triglycerides have 18 and a few 16 carbon atoms. Iodine number There are several types of vegetable oils originated from different
estimates the degree of unsaturation of the fats and oils. It is the sources. The most popular vegetable oils include oilseed oil,
number of iodine in grams consumed by 100 g of a chemical sunflower oil, peanuts, cottonseed, and soybean; and others like
substance under investigation. Based on their iodine value, rapeseed oil, castor oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, and
vegetable oils are sub-divided into three (3) categories. Therefore, canola oil. There are also less commonly known types of oil
oils are classified as “non-drying” if their iodine value is below which include niger seed oil, kome oil, patua oil, tiger nut oil,
90, “semi-drying” if the factor comprised is between 90 and 130 pririma oil and rice bran oil. These types of oil yields, different
and “drying” if the iodine value is greater than 130 [1]. Table 4 compositions and by default their chemical and physical
shows iodine values of some unsaturated fatty acids and their properties determine their effectiveness in numerous applications
triglycerides. beside edible uses.
Bennion [36] reported that over a century years ago,
Table 2. Chemical structure of major fatty acids present in vegetable oils cottonseed oil was developed as a byproduct of the cotton
[2]. industry. Its processing involves the use of solvent extraction,
Common Chemical Chemical structure
Name Formula screw pressing and hydraulic pressing [37]. It is categorised as
Lauric C12H24O2 polyunsaturated oil, with 40–55% linoleic acid, 20–25% palmitic
acid, 18–30% oleic acid and 2–7% stearic acid [38]. It is used
primarily as food-related such as salad oil for margarine
production, for frying and for manufacturing shortenings used in
Myristic C14H28O2 biscuits and cakes.
Due to the relatively high proportion of unsaturated fatty
acids they contain, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, olive
oil and palm oil among others are termed as Oleic-Linoleic acid.
They have polyunsaturated linoleic acid and monounsaturated
oleic acid [39, 40]. They are categorised by a high ratio of
polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids. Thus, they have relatively
Palmitic C16H32O2
low melting points and are liquid at room temperature. In addition
to other physical properties, their melting points, specific
compositions, saponification values, acid values and iodine value
Palmitoleic C16H30O2 have been determined and are widely available [41, 42].
Erucic acid (C22) oil is another class of oils like oleic
linoleic acid oil except that its major unsaturated fatty acids are
erucic acid containing mustard seed with rapeseed oil as an
important oil in the class [3]. Other oils fall under several
categories like the erucic acid oils, which are like the oleic linoleic
acid oil, except its major unsaturated fatty acid is erucic acid
Stearic C18H36O2
(C22). Rapeseed and mustard seed oils are of important oils in this
class. Canola oil is another type of rapeseed oil with low erucic
acid content [43]. It is one of the major source of vegetable oils in
the last two decades [44, 45]. It is a stable oil used in shortenings,
margarine and salad dressings. In today’s world, soybean oil has
become an essential oil with various increasing applications. It is a
Oleic C18H34O2 class of linolenic acid oil that contains the more extremely
unsaturated linolenic acid. Hydroxy-acid oil (castor oil) is another
that contains ricinoleic acid glycerides [46]. Unlike other cooking
oils, coconut oil is solid at room temperature due to its high
proportion of saturated fatty acids (92%) particularly lauric acid.
Bennion [36] reported that coconut oil, due to its almost identical
Linoleic C18H32O2 composition, has a fairly sharp melting point, unlike other fats and
oils that melt over a range of temperature. Oils from various
sources have been the subjected to recent studies. Examples
include Cineole oil, camelina sativa oil, Palmarosa oil and corn oil
[47 – 50].

Vegetable Oils Structure

Linolenic C18H30O2
Fats and vegetable oils are widely found in nature and consist
mainly of glycerol esters particularly triacylglycerols. They are
biodegradable, come from renewable sources and have low
toxicity. Fat is solid at room temperature, for instance beef tallow.
Meanwhile oil is liquid at the same temperature conditions [51].
In addition to the nutritional importance, vegetable oils have been
used in numerous industrial applications such as industrial fluids

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 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55

(hardening, cutting and hydraulic), pharmaceutical (drug carrier), these substances are substantially or completely removed from the
food (softness agents, creaminess and flavor) and fuel, among crude [21].
others [52]. They have much of desirable lubricating properties
such as good boundary lubrication, low volatility, high flash point Isolation of Vegetable Oils
and high viscosity index. As shown in Figure 1, the range of
applications was quite clarified by the chemical nature of Isolation of vegetable oils can be done either through solvent
triacylglycerols due to its polar ester structure and high molecular extraction or by mechanical method [53]. The main principle of
weight when compared to non-polar hydrocarbons derived from solvent extraction is that the solvent diffuses through the seeds,
petroleum. In chemical terms, vegetable oils are glycerol solubilises and extracts the oil. An organic solvent, hexane is used
molecules esterified to three (3) long chain fatty acids [24]. These in solvent extraction. The rate of diffusion of the solvent into the
fatty acids differ in number of unsaturation present in the carbon oil body surface is the major factor of this process. It has the
chains and size of the fatty acids. disadvantage of using volatile organic solvents.
In order to liberate the oil in mechanical process, it
Table 3. Some specific physical properties of triglycerides oils and fatty involves submitting the beans, cells and oil bodies to shearing. It
acids [35] can induce a negative effect on the proteins due to the heat
Name Viscosity Specific Refractive index Melting generated during this process. Mechanical isolation does not
(mpa-s) gravity point (ºC)
Oleic acid 3.41 at 110ºC 0.850 at 1.4449 at 60ºC 16.3
involve the use of hazardous substances or solvents, as such; it is
80ºC safe in terms of environmental concerns in addition to its low cost
Stearic 2.79 at 110ºC 0.839 at 1.4337 at 70ºC 69.6 and low investment. This method presents, however, the drawback
acid 80ºC of oil extraction low yields since the amount of oil left in the
Palmitic 3.47 at 110ºC 0.841 at 1.4209 at 70ºC 62.9
acid 80ºC
ensuing residues can reach value of as high as 7%. Moreover, this
Myristic 2.78 at 110ºC 0.844 at 1.4273 at 70ºC 54.4 process is less efficient than the solvent extraction [1].
acid 80ºC
Sunflower 33.31 at 0.916 at 1.473-1.477 at -18 to -16 Vegetable Oil Oxidation
oil 37.8ºC 20ºC 20ºC
Soybean 28.49 at 0.917 at 1.473-1.477 at -23 to -20
oil 37.8ºC 20ºC 20ºC One of the major barricades for using vegetable oils in lubricant
Palm oil 30.92 at 0.890 at 1.453 - 1.456 at 33 - 40 formulations is the oxidation of vegetable oils since this reaction
37.8ºC 20ºC 20ºC promotes the degradation and polymerising of the fluid [24]. Due
Linseed 29.6 at 0.925 at 1.480- 1.483 at -20
37.8ºC 20ºC 20ºC
to an increase in viscosity, polymerisation decreases the lubricity
Castor oil 293.4 at 0.951 at 1.473 - 1.480 at -20 to -10 of the fluid, while degradation favours the formation of corrosive
37.8ºC 20ºC 20ºC and volatile products, which leads to the reduction of lubrication
properties. Regularly, in the discussion of the degradation
processes of vegetable oils, the terms oxidative stability and
thermal stability are used interchangeably. These terms, though,
Table 4. Iodine values of some unsaturated fatty acids and their refer to fundamentally different processes [54]. The (-CH2-) group
triglycerides
Fatty acid (number of carbon atoms) Iodine value
carbons between the olefinic carbons are the positions of first
Acid Triglyceride attack in the oxidative instability of a vegetable oils, whereas
Palmitoleic (C16) 99.8 95.0 thermal instability is ensued with the trans isomer formation of
Oleic (C18) 89.9 86.0 the double bonds leading to increased viscosity [2]. Thermal
Linoleic (C18) 181.0 173.2 polymerisation and the associated exponential increase in
Linolenic (C18) and α-eleostrearic (C18) 273.5 261.6
viscosity usually become significant when the temperature is
Ricinoleic (C18) 85.1 81.6
Licanic (C18) 261.0 258.6
higher than 252ºC. Diels-Alder reaction is the process through
which this polymerisation occurs [54]. Since both processes occur
during the use of vegetable oils as quenchants, the term thermal-
oxidative degradation was used here.
The oxidative stability of vegetable oils is directly
proportional to the fatty acid composition or more precisely, the
degree of unsaturation of the fatty acids present in vegetable oils
and the presence of factors that promote oxidation such as high
temperature, metal ions, oxygen, light and oxygen [55, 56]. All of
these factors affect the degree of oxidation of vegetable oils
making it difficult to differentiate their respective influences on
the oxidative process.
The effects of vegetable oils oxidation kinetics have
Figure 1. An example of chemical structure of vegetable oils been studied and revealed that soybean oil oxidises at a rate of an
order of magnitude higher than petroleum oils [57]. This is due to
the presence of double bonds, which act as the active sites for the
Apart from the predominant presence of triglycerides, vegetable oxidation process. The higher the degree of unsaturation in the
oils in their composition demonstrate other substances in low fatty acid triglyceride ester component, the greater the
concentration such as free fatty acids, mono and diglycerides, susceptibility to oxidative processes [58]. This tendency increased
vitamins, tocopherols, carotenoid pigments, sterols and exponentially from the presence of a single allylic methylene
phosphatides. Nonetheless, during the purifying process, some of group to the presence of double allylic methylene groups present

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 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55
in the fatty ester [24]. Figure 2 illustrates the order in which the
relative oxidation rate follows. Hence, the increase of the
polyunsaturated fatty acid chains oxidative instability was
primarily due to the presence of double allylic methylene groups
between the unsaturation of the linolenic and linoleic acids [2].
Figure 2. Relative Oxidation rate of fatty acids [2]
The vegetable oils oxidative processes promote changes in
vitamins present in the composition, amino acids loss, changes in
flavour as well as deterioration in their chemical, physical and
lubrication properties [23]. Enzymatic oxidation, thermal-
oxidation, photo-oxidation and auto-oxidation among others are
some of the examples of oxidation processes [2]. The majority of
these processes are involved in the formation of free radical or
reactive oxygen species. The main oxidation process of fats and
oils is the autoxidation of vegetable oils that refers to the
spontaneous reaction between triacylglycerol and atmospheric
oxygen [59]. Vegetable oils that contain a high proportion of
monounsaturated fatty acids typically exhibit autoxidation only at
relatively high temperatures. Nevertheless, oils containing
polyunsaturated fatty acids like linolenic and linoleic, undergo
autoxidation at room temperature [23]. Figure 3 presents well the
autoxidation mechanism in the literature [60 – 62].
Oxidation of vegetable oils is initiated by the formation
of free radicals (R• and H•), which are easily formed by removing
a hydrogen atom present in the methylene group next to the
double bond. These free radicals swiftly react with oxygen
producing a peroxide radical (ROO•), which in turn can attack
another vegetable oil molecule by hydrogen abstraction to form an
allylic hydroperoxide (ROOH) and another free radical (R•) which
propagates the oxidation process. Through homolytic cleavage of
the allylic hydroperoxide secondary initiation occur to form other
radicals (•OH and RO•) and consequently lead to the production
of low molecular weight compounds. In the termination phase,
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oxidation occurs by free radicals recombination obtained by chain
scission and rearrangement of peroxides, hence promoting
polymerisation and formation of high molecular weight
compounds, thus increasing the viscosity of the vegetable oil [2].
Under thermal conditions, vegetable oils associated with the
autoxidation process also suffer polyunsaturated fatty acids
isomerisation, yielding conjugated fatty acids [24]. These
conjugated fatty acids polymerise more easily than their
precursors, leading to an increase in molecular weight, and
viscosity of vegetable oils. Figure 4 shows the simplified
chemical structure of conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2 9c,11t) [63].
It is apparent that the oxidation causes great changes in
tribological, chemical, and physical properties of vegetable oils,
mainly in viscosity, hence decreasing the usefulness of these oils
[2]. The oxidation effect on the tribological performance of some
vegetable oils including sesame oil, soybean oil, palm oil, and
groundnut oil has been reported [64]. These oils were exposed to
accelerated aging at various temperatures in a dark oven to
eliminate the possibilities of photooxidation. The samples were
held under these conditions for 6 weeks, which were followed by
kinematic viscosity at 40ºC, and tribological tests to compare
them with the fresh oils were done. The study observed an
increase in viscosity of these oils due to aging temperature. This
increase was very significant since the samples were seen aging at
a high temperature. These results are in compliance with others
obtained by [23, 24, 65] showing the increase in viscosity was as a
result of oxidation and the polymeric compounds formation
ensuing from the reaction between oxidation products formed
during the accelerated aging.
 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55
1. Initiation (Formation of free radicals)
RH R• +H•
Secondary Initiation
ROOH RO • + OH •
RO • +RH + O2 ROH + ROO •
• OH + RH + O2 ROH + ROO •
2. Propagation (chain reactions)
R • + O2 ROO •
ROO • + RH ROOH + R •
3. Termination (Formation of inactive products)
ROO • + ROO • ROOR + O2
ROO • + ROO • ROOR
R• +R• RR
Figure 3. Autoxidation mechanism of vegetable oils [23]
Figure 4. Chemical structure of conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2 9c,11t)
Antioxidants of Vegetable Oils
Antioxidants are used to increase the vegetable oil oxidation
stability plans and there are quiet a large numbers of published
papers examining their usefulness [6, 66 – 69]. Studies have
shown that the efficiency of a variety of natural and synthetic
antioxidants in reducing vegetable oils autooxidation is accessible
from food [23, 60, 70, 71] and lubricants point of view [72]. A
broad assessment on the effectiveness of vegetable oils as
antioxidant at high temperature was studied [73].
The major classes of antioxidants are divided into two
(2) categories: peroxide decomposers and chain breaking radical
scavengers. Chain breaking antioxidants oxidise with radicals to
form a stable compound and avoid propagation of oxidation
reaction. The best efficient of the brand extinguishes the initial
hydroperoxy and peroxy radicals as well as hydroxy and alkoxy
radicals generated during the branching stages [23]. Some less
efficient free radicals scavengers only extinguish the hydroxy and
alkoxy radicals generated during the branching stages. Normally
used chain-breaking antioxidants include the naturally occurring
tocopherols, propyl gallate (PG), mono-tert-butyl-hydro-quinone
(TBHQ), butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT), butylated hydroxyl
anisole (BHA). Diphenylamine, an amine-based antioxidants are
not very efficient in vegetable oils [74].
In the selection and design of chain-breaking
antioxidants, bond dissociation energies can be used. Energies of
bond dissociation stimulate the efficiency of hydrogen atom
transfer reactions from the antioxidant molecules to the reactive
radical intermediates like hydroperoxyl, peroxyl, alkoxyl and
hydroxyl radicals generated during the degradation reaction. For
an antioxidant to effectively quench all destructive radical
intermediates, its bond dissociation energy has to be lower than
that of the hydroperoxyl and peroxyl radicals [23].
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Another major antioxidant class is the peroxide
decomposers. It reacts with and decomposes hydroperoxides
radicals. The decomposing of hydroperoxides by peroxide
decomposers, thus leads to stable compounds, hence limiting
oxidation. Glutathione and catalase are the common examples of
peroxide decomposers used in vegetable oils. Some antioxidants
show various functionalities. For instance, dithiocarbamates
(DTC) and dithiophosphates (DTP) act as both peroxide
decomposers and radical scavenger. A natural antioxidant,
ascorbic acid, acts by scavenging oxygen, becoming favourably
oxidised to dehydroascorbic acid and water. Ascorbic acid can
then be regenerated from the reaction with reduced glutathione.
Ascorbic acid can also act as metal chelator [23].
UV absorbers and metal-chelating agents are not
precisely antioxidants, although they can aid in oxidation
prevention. UV absorbers like hydrogen-benzophenone and
phenylsalicylate inhibit hydroperoxides decomposition by UV
exposure. Metal-chelating agents like ethylene diamine and citric
acid bind to metal ions to catalyse the decompositions of
hydroperoxide. These compounds are often resulted from the
action of antioxidants.
Certain antioxidant combinations can lead to synergism
where the outcome of the entire is more accurate than the two
substances. Butylated hydroxy anisole with propyl gallate or
butylated hydroxy toluene is a synergic antioxidants combination
for storage at ambient conditions. However, combining propyl
gallate and hydroxy toluene can lead to negative synergism. At
high temperatures, synergism is shown with combination of
phenols with aromatic phosphates or sulphides. Combining
aromatic amines with phenols showed marginally negative effects.
The efficiency of antioxidants is also affected by many elements,
which include the environmental conditions, oil base composition
and the existence of other additives. The existence of high-level
polyunsaturated fatty acids in vegetable base oil strictly decreases
the advantage of any added antioxidants with the major
contributing factor being temperature. At high temperature, some
antioxidants are decomposed; for instance, propyl gallate, while
others become less active, for instance, tocopherols. Becker and
Knorr [73] reported that hindering or protecting the effective
hydroxyl group is critical for continuing the efficiency of free
radical scavengers at high temperatures [23].
Industrial Uses of Vegetable Oils
For many years, the use of animal fats and vegetable oils for
industrial reasons and precisely lubrication has been in practice
for decades. Characteristic drawbacks and the inexpensive
availability options have nevertheless brought about the utilisation
low vegetable oils for industrial lubrication [9]. Gunther [75]
reported that when used in the tribology science, vegetable oils
fall under the class known as fixed since they do not volatilise
without decomposing. Earlier to this recent findings in tribology
demonstrated that animals and vegetable oils can serve mainly as
additives to mineral lubricating oil formulations though in certain
situations they are used completely, or in blends [3].
For example, tallow (acid less) has been used as a
blending agent for steam cylinder oils, whereas rapeseed, peanut
and castor oils have been used as blends with mineral oils to
improve lubrication performance. In addition, olive oil has been
used as a yarn lubricant, while palm oil has been used in isolation
as a fluxing dip in the tin plating of steel [75].
 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55
In the science of lubrication, the purposes for the use of
vegetable oils abound. Their emulsifying characteristics and
superior lubricity increase their attractiveness as additives to the
cheapest but less efficient mineral oil-based lubricants. In order to
reduce clutch slippage, their industrial lubrication and high-class
lubricity in machinery occasionally even requires additional
friction materials in tractor transmissions [9].
Due to their moderately low viscosity-temperature
difference, the use of vegetable oils has been preferred due to their
high viscosity indices, which are about twice those of mineral oils
[9]. More so, as shown by their high flash points, they have low
volatilities [9]. Meaningfully, they are ecologically friendly: non-
toxic, biodegradable, and renewable [76]. In general, vegetable
oils used as an engine lubricants formulated have the following
merits deriving from the base stock chemistry:
I. Lower friction loss due to high lubricity and hence
producing better fuel economy and more power
II. Higher dispersancy
III. Higher detergency removing the demand for detergent
additives.
IV. Higher shear stability.
V. Higher viscosity indices.
VI. Decreased in exhaust emissions due to lower volatility.
VII. Fast biological degradation and hence decreasing
toxicological/environmental hazards [3, 77].
In a comparison between mineral-based lubricants and
oil palm, [78] reported that oil palm based lubricants was found to
be highly efficient in reducing the carbon monoxide (CO) and
hydrocarbon emission levels among other things. Vegetable oils
have been identified to have many possibilities as alternative
diesel engine fuels [79]. This happens due to the interest in an
environmental cleanup as well as in increasing mineral deposit
based energy cost [76]. Based on availability to meet demand,
sunflower, peanut and soybean oils have been known as the most
promising fuel sources. The term “biodiesel” is applicable when
these oils are used as fuel [79].
Biodiesel refers to an animal fat-based diesel fuel or
vegetable oil containing long alkyl (propyl, ethyl or methyl)
esters. Typically, biodiesel is made as chemically reacting lipids
(animal fat, soybean, vegetable oil) with an alcohol producing
fatty acid esters through trans-esterification. High flash point of
over 100ºC, a BTU content is comparable to that of petrodiesel,
superb lubricity and no aromatic or sulfur virtually. Above all,
biodiesel is biodegradable and non-toxic [76].
Vegetable oils have been used as a coolant oils for
transformer and have been found to obey to all industry principles
with cost profiles and performances similar to the conventional
mineral oils used in cooling transformer [80]. Transformer oil
products are manufactured from castor oils as well as soybean oils
[3, 9].
Oxidative stability is one of the major disadvantages for
the use of vegetable oils in industrial purposes. This issue has
been mostly investigated precisely as biodiesel [81 – 83].
Domingos et al. [84] reported that many research proposals on
how to handle this problem have been studied. Because of their
known high oxidative stability compared to other oils, many
vegetable oils have been recommended for industrial application
[85]. The effect of light on the stability of palm olein have also
been studied by some researchers, whereas others have studied the
- 51 -
stability of these vegetable oils when antioxidants are added [83,
86 – 88].
BIODEGRADATION AND ITS MEASUREMENT
Biodegradation
Biodegradation of a compound is often found as a result of the
actions of multiple organisms. It is a process by which
microorganisms alter or convert (through enzymatic or metabolic
action) the chemical structure imported to a polluted environment
to improve degradation through a process called bioaugmentation
[89]. It can also due to a process in which organic (carbon-based)
materials are changed through chemical processes from complex
into simpler molecules. A banana peel for instance, being cut
down from cellulose to carbon mono oxide gas, water and humus
in a compost pile [90]. Biodegradation is a waste management and
recycling system that degrades everything from yard waste to
crude oil. This process helps to keep the earth clean and healthy.
This acceleration can be done by two methods of technology.
These are addition of microbes and/or nutrients [91]. These
additions are important to overcome certain environmental factors
that may prevent or limit biodegradation. Presently, the most
popular strategy for biological treatment of contaminated
environment, wastewaters and waters is by engaging the
biochemical abilities of microorganisms [92].
There are two major types of biodegradation namely
primary and ultimate or complete biodegradation. Primary
biodegradation refers to the use of microorganisms to modify a
substance such that the alteration is caused by some precise
measurable property of the substance [93]. When there is a little
transformation that changes the physical characteristics of a
compound while leaving most of the molecule unchanged, such
phenomenon is termed as primary biodegradation. The
intermediary metabolites formed may be more poisonous than the
original compound [3]. On the other hand, complete or ultimate
biodegradation is achieved when the contaminants are completely
utilised by microorganisms, leading to the production of carbon
(iv) oxide, mineral salts, water, methane and new microbial
cellular components [93].
Volatilising industrial developments has ensued in
various environmental risks especially in ensuring safe and clean
water to people as environmental free pollution. Lipid (fats, oils,
greases and fatty acids) is a major constituent of industrial and
domestic waste particularly from food processing industries [94],
thus contributing its fair share towards environmental
contamination. Accidental animal fats and vegetable oils spill into
inland and coastal water are relatively common [95]. Since
vegetable oils do not have the intensely toxic components
available in petroleum oil and its refined products (e.g. aromatic
hydrocarbons), they can make serious harm to touchy marine
organisms and their biological communities [10, 96]. The
deposited vegetable oils can lead to severe anthropogenic harms
like blocking of pipes, depleting oxygen, oil film formation, odour
problems and congested treatment filters, thus killing marine
organisms livings [97, 98]. This situation can get even worse in
the presence of many slaughter houses, restaurants, dairy products
and food industries where high amount of vegetable oils are
continuously disposed to the waste streams [99].
Nagarajan et al. [100] reported that the bioremediation
and removal of vegetable oils contaminated water is paramount
due to its negative effects. Usually, partial recovery of lipid
 MJBMB, 2018, 3, 45 - 55
residue is done through air floatation where floated lipid is
discarded by sanitary landfill dumping prior to normal water
treatment [101]. On the other way, anaerobic treatment of water
have a lot of limitations such as clogging on digesters, defects of
mass transfer for soluble substrates, biomass floatation and severe
toxicity against both acetogenic and methanogenic microbes [102,
103]. More so, other appropriate alternative treatments are
preferred such as enzymatic, alkaline and thermochemical pre-
treatment [100].
Considering the need for developing biological
treatment, an enzymatic method particularly with respect to lipase
is increasing expanding consideration [102]. On densely populated
fats contaminated area, aerobic biodegradation processes by
effective lipolytic strains are considered to be slow and less
viable. On the other hand, this approach has been proven feasible
with many added advantages compared to other approaches [97].
Studies on enzymatic aerobic treatment have commented that this
approach guarantees better discharge quality and does not develop
odour issue [104]. Attractively, Abeynayaka and Visvanathan
[105] reported that compared to aerobic conventional method,
aerobic biological treatment was able to support organic loading
rate up to 5 – 30 kg chemical oxygen demand per m3. It was
known that aerobic treatment biological also releases a significant
amount of energy, which can be used by microorganisms for
maximum growth synthesis of new cells [104]. The possible usage
of microbial enzymes and organisms acquired from microbial
system for increasing lipids degradation methods have been
labelled as efficient as since they are eco-friendly, specific,
reducing time management, easy to be used, disease free and cost
effective which effectively reduce chemical oxygen demand,
suspended lipid solids and colour [102].
Biodegradation of vegetable oils has been well studied
in relation to their incorporation (after chemical modification) to
the formulae of greases and lubricants [106] or the accidental
treatment of oil spills [107, 108]. Many aerobic and anaerobic
microorganisms capable of degrading vegetable oils have been
well studied in bacterial and fungal systems primarily from the
genus Rhodococcus, and others for instance Pseudomonas,
Enterobacter aerogenes, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Serratia,
Staphylococcus, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Mucor, Burkholderia
sp., Acinetobacteria, Penicllium chrysogenum, and Lactobacillus
sp. [97, 100, 109 – 113]. Most of these microorganisms (bacilli,
klebsiella, pseudomonads) have the ability to secrete extracellular
lipases responsible for lipid biodegradation [114, 115], although,
chemical characteristics of the oil could determine its
biodegradability [116]. Biodegradation of vegetable oil occurs in
the same pattern as both in the absence or presence of oxygen
through hydrolysis of triglycerides and ß-oxidation to release free
fatty acids. In the initial step of lipids degradation, microbial
lipases break down the ester bonds of glycerol-esters thereby
removing the fatty acids moiety from the glycerol. The free fatty
acids are then converted via a series of enzymatic reactions taking
place in the mitochondria to Acetyl-CoA through ß-oxidation
[117, 118], while the glycerol generated is converted to glucose
via series of chemical reactions. Due to the limited availability of
these hydrophobic materials from microorganisms, microbial
lipids degradation is slow [119]. Anaerobic lipid degradation may
be inhibited under methanogenic conditions due to high oil
concentrations, though this may be solved if iron-reducing
conditions are induced [120]. The strategy design involves the use
of microorganisms especially yeasts to instantaneously degrade
oils waste and get high added value products, which would be an
- 52 -
interesting endeavour from both environmental and economic
point of view [121, 122].
Certainly, microbial degradation of contaminants is
dependent on the nature of the environment where soil’s pH
adjustments for example, was found to have a clear effect on
certain compounds biodegradation [123, 124]. When it comes to
regular contaminants, microbial populations are prone to
acclimatise to a substrate, increases in hydrocarbon transformation
rates associated with environmental oil contamination has been
well-known and documented [125]. Modified bacterial strains
appeared to be optimised by their capability to degrade the
contaminants that induce the modification [126]. Therefore,
biodegradation principally is a function of chemical nature of the
contaminants in question.
Mecurio et al. [127] carried out a specific comparative
study and found that vegetable-derived lubricants are more
biodegradable than similar mineral-derived lubricants in the
presence of coral reef microbial or tropical mangrove
communities, while other researchers have studied the
biodegradation of vegetable oils under spill situations [127 – 130].
Numerous researchers have studied the biodegradability and
oxidative stability of industrial fluids obtained from vegetable
oils. These involve; as dielectric fluid, as lubricant, as hydraulic
fluids and as methyl esters [68, 80, 131, 132].
CONCLUSION
Microbial vegetable oils degradation provides an alternative
method over thermal method of degradation in the treatment of
vegetable oil spill in wastewater. In the case of their industrial
applications, tallow (acid less) has been used as a blending agent
for steam cylinder oils, while rapeseed, peanut and castor oils
have been used in blends with mineral oils to improve lubrication
performance. They provide the most reasonable solution to the
issue of getting environmentally friendly, biodegradable, non-
toxic as well as renewable fuels and lubricants.
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