Journal of Applied Life Sciences International

16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

ISSN: 2394-1103

Microbial Degradation of Anionic Surfactants from

Laundry Detergents Commonly Discharged into a
Riverine Ecosystem
Anwuli U. Osadebe1*, Chinelo A. Onyiliogwu1, Bukola M. Suleiman1
and Gideon C. Okpokwasili1
1
Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria.

Authors’ contributions

This work was carried out in collaboration between all authors. Author GCO conceived and designed
the study and author AUO performed the data analysis, managed literature searches and wrote the
first draft of the manuscript. Author CAO carried out data and laboratory analyses while author BMS
was involved in the laboratory analysis.

Article Information

DOI: 10.9734/JALSI/2018/40131
Editor(s):
(1) Vasil Simeonov, Laboratory of Chemometrics and Environmetrics, University of Sofia “St. Kliment Okhridski”, Bulgaria.
Reviewers:
(1) Ewa Olkowska, Medical University of Gdansk, Poland.
(2) Mustapha Umar, Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology, Nigeria.
Complete Peer review History: http://www.sciencedomain.org/review-history/23963

th
Received 28 December 2017
th
Original Research Article Accepted 7 March 2018
rd
Published 3 April 2018

ABSTRACT

The biodegradability of anionic surfactants and the presence of surfactant degrading bacteria in the
New Calabar River situated in Choba, Nigeria was investigated. Eleven (11) locally manufactured
and six (6) imported brands were studied alongside sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) used as a
standard. Total heterotrophic counts were determined using the spread plate technique on nutrient
agar while mineral salt agar was used for the isolation and enumeration of the detergent utilisers.
The river die-away Methylene Blue Active Substance (MBAS) technique was used to determine the
extent of primary degradation of the surfactants in the detergents. Investigations revealed that the
growth of surfactant-utilising bacteria was supported by all the detergents, at a concentration of 3
mg/L. The locally formulated brands were found to support less growth and were thus concluded to
be less prone to bacterial utilisation when compared to imported brands and SDS indicating that the
latter was a more ready source of carbon at the concentration used. The detergent-utilising bacteria
isolated were Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Escherichia coli and
Staphylococcus aureus. The anionic surfactants in imported detergents were more biodegradable
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

*Corresponding author: E-mail: anwuli.osadebe@gmail.com;

 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131
than in locally manufactured ones. At the end of the 28 day test period, the locally manufactured
detergents had 15 – 44% surfactant un-degraded based on the presence of the Methylene Blue
Active Substance (MBAS) while the imported brands had 5 – 8% surfactant remaining. SDS had
the lowest value of 3% surfactant un-degraded.
Keywords: Anionic surfactant; aquatic ecosystem; biodegradation; detergent; heterotrophic bacteria;
New Calabar River; pollution; river.
1. INTRODUCTION
Laundry detergents are any soap or non-soap
material that can be used as cleaning agents [1-
2]. They are described as substances or
preparations containing soaps or other
surfactants intended for water-based laundry or
dishwashing processes [3]. They play an
important role in modern society and are
commonly derived from synthetic organic
chemicals. Detergents may be used in various
forms – liquid, powder, paste or bar. They are
used for household laundry, domestic cleaning,
cosmetic products and industrial processes [4].
Surfactants are organic compounds that reduce
the surface tension in water and other liquids.
They are the components mainly responsible for
the cleaning action of detergents. Any effective
detergent would normally contain one or more
types of surfactants. Surfactants are less
sensitive than soap to water hardness because
of their chemical composition and most will not
form foam. In commercial detergents, the
surfactant content is usually between 10% and
20% [5]. Surfactants consist of three main
classes – anionic, non-anionic and cationic.
Anionic surfactants are the most commonly used
class of surfactants. The predominant groups of
anionic surfactants are the linear alkylbenzene
sulpohonate (LAS) and non-linear alkylbenzene
sulphonate (ABS) [6]. The recalcitrance of ABS
has informed the current focus of detergent
manufacturing on LAS which is considered more
readily biodegradable [7]. Ainsworth [8]
estimated that the global production of linear
alkylbenzene sulpohonate (LAS) anionic
6
surfactant annually was 2.8 x 10 tonnes.
Detergents are normally discharged into the
environment through sewage treatment plants
[9]. In developing countries where such plants
are not as common, these detergents are
discharged directly into the environment; typically
into water bodies like streams, rivers and lakes.
The presence of foam and frothing in rivers and
streams receiving such tainted effluent has
highlighted the adverse environmental
consequence of this practice. Organic
2
compounds discharged into water bodies would
normally pose a toxicity hazard to indigenous
microflora even when they may be degraded by
the microorganisms present. Biodegradation
enhances the removal of these surfactants from
the environment thus reducing their impact on
biota. During biodegradation, microorganisms
utilise the surfactants as substrates for energy
and nutrients. The key factors affecting the
biodegradation of surfactants are their chemical
structure, concentration and the physicochemical
characteristics of the environmental media in
which they are found [5,10–14]. The increasingly
recurrent discharge of organic pollutants into the
environment in form of detergents both by
industries and residents raises concern as the
effects on human health, ecosystem balance and
groundwater safety are far-reaching. The surge
in environmental awareness and increased
appreciation of the harmful effects of
environmental pollution across the globe have
led to a dramatic increase in strategies aimed at
checking the menace of pollution in all its
ramifications and cleaning up the environment
where pollution has inevitably occurred. It has
been concluded that microbial metabolism
proves a less intrusive, more efficient and less
expensive alternative to physicochemical
methods of pollution management [14–17].
Environmental analysts often include the
determination of the presence and concentration
of anionic detergents when assessing surface
water pollution because they are poisonous to
fish and other forms of aquatic life reducing
diversity and disrupting the food chain in aquatic
environments [18]. These surfactants destroy the
external mucus layer that protects fish from
pathogens, damage gills, lower the surface
tension of the water and provide nutrients for
algal bloom [2]. Poorly degraded surfactants in
water and soil are toxic to indigenous flora and
fauna causing enzyme disturbance. They cause
severe damage to vital organs of higher animals
as well as haematological and hormonal
disturbances [19–21]. The biodegradability of a
given surfactant sample is expressed as the
percentage degraded or percentage remaining
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131
under a specific set of biological conditions as
detected by a specified analytical method [22].
The New Calabar River has been described as
one of the most stressed rivers in the Niger
Delta, Nigeria [23]. It is considered a vital water
source in the region; largely depended upon by
residents in and around the teeming city of Port
Harcourt, Nigeria and neighbouring cities. It is
used for recreation and domestic water supply by
residents in the more rural areas adjacent the
river. It is habitually subjected to untreated
domestic and industrial effluent. Laundry
activities along the river banks are
commonplace. Studies have shown that the
persistent disposal of waste into this river has
resulted in a significant change in its quality [24–
26]. This study aims to determine the
susceptibility of different commonly used locally
manufactured and imported detergent brands to
degradation by bacteria in the New Calabar
River which regularly receives laundry effluent
with a view to determining the specific microbial
groups involved and the adequately
biodegradable brands.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Sources of Samples
The microorganisms for the biodegradation study
are naturally occurring bacterial flora in samples
obtained from the New Calabar River located
about 200 m west of the University of Port
Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria where laundry and
other such cleaning activities regularly result in
the release of detergents into the river while the
tap water was taken from the laboratory taps. For
the purposes of this study, the 17 detergents
studied were designated A – Q. Samples D – H
and O were imported detergents while A – C, I –
N, P and Q were local detergents.
2.2 Enumeration of Total Aerobic
Heterotrophic Bacteria
Following serial dilution, 0.1 ml aliquots of
-4 -5 -6
dilutions 10 , 10 and 10 were inoculated
aseptically unto nutrient agar plates in triplicate
using the spread plate technique [27]. Incubation
was at room temperature for 48 hours. The
methods described by Cheesbrough [28] and
Bergey and Bollag [29] were used to identify the
isolated detergent-utilising bacteria.
3
2.3 Determination of Viable Counts of
Detergent-utilising Bacteria
The number of bacterial detergent utilisers from
the river that could grow on the medium
containing the test detergents as their sole
carbon source was investigated. Selected
dilutions of river water were inoculated unto
Mineral Salt Agar using the spread plate
technique. The contents of the Mineral Salt Agar
per litre of distilled water were: NaCl, 5.0 g; KCl,
0.6 g; MgSO4.7H2O, 7.0 g, NH4NO3, 1.0 g; Agar,
20.0 g; test detergent, 3 mg. The control
consisted of mineral salt agar alone devoid of
any detergent inoculated with dilutions with river
water. Incubation was at room temperature for 3
– 7 days. Plate counts were recorded and
isolates kept as stock culture for characterisation
and identification [27].
2.4 Modified Methylene Blue Active
Substance (MBAS) Method and
Preparation of Calibration Curve for
the Detergent Brands
The method for MBAS analysis described by
APHA [27] but modified by Dentel et al. [30] was
used. In this method, separatory funnels were
replaced with test tubes and a reduced volume of
reagent was used. Absorbance measurements of
extracts were done at regular intervals using a
spectrophotometer at 625 nm against blank
chloroform. The concentration of the MBAS
present in the test detergents was plotted against
time in days for the 28-day study period. The
results obtained for SDS served as a reference.
2.5 Determination of the Extent of
Primary Biodegradation of Detergent
Using River Die-Away MBAS Method
Approximately 1 mg and 3 mg of SDS and the
test detergents respectively were added to
known quantities of fresh water in order to obtain
known concentrations. From these stock
solutions, 10 ml was diluted to 1 L using distilled
water and 300ml from this solution was added to
1200 ml river water. The solutions were
incubated at room temperature for 28 days.
Every 4 days over the 28-day test period, 100 ml
was drawn for MBAS analysis. Further samples
were taken from the test systems for the
determination of total bacterial counts using the
spread plate technique [27,31].
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION samples were able to utilise the detergents. For
the locally formulated detergents, values ranged
The six detergent-utilisers isolated were from approximately 1.92 – 3.23% whereas the
identified as Pseudomonas, Escherichia coli, imported brands were utilisable by about 4.0 –
Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus, Enterobacter 5.62% of the microbial population in river water.
and Klebsiella. The mean total aerobic SDS had the highest percentage of utilisers at
6
heterotrophic counts obtained were 1.30 x 10 6.46%. These values raise strong concerns
5
cfu/ml and 1.01 x 10 cfu/ml for river water and regarding the discharge of these detergents
tap water respectively. The mean detergent- directly into aquatic systems as only a small
utiliser counts obtained for each detergent are fraction of the autochthonous population seem
outlined in Fig. 1. The lower numbers seen in tap able to degrade these chemical substances. The
water were expected as tap water would low counts observed particularly in the locally
normally undergo treatment to lower microbial formulated brands could be attributed to the use
loads. of antimicrobial agents by certain manufacturers
[16]. The type and quantity of LAS and similar
As shown in Fig. 2, only a small percentage of surfactants present in these commercial
the total microbial population in the river water detergents further play a role here [32].

100
River Water Tap Water
90
80
Counts x 103 (cfu/ml)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
A B C D E F G H SDS I J K L M N O P Q

Fig. 1. Mean detergent utiliser counts in river water and tap water
Samples D – H and O are imported detergents while A – C, I – N, P and Q are local detergents

30

25
% Utilisers in River Water

Locally Formulated
20 Brand
Imported Brand

15

10

0
A B C D E F G H SDS I J K L M N O P Q

Fig. 2. Percentage of microorganisms in river water able to utilise the test detergents

4
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131
Generally, the further apart the sulphonate
groups and the more extreme the alkyl group,
the more readily biodegradable the surfactant
[33]. The higher counts in SDS compared to the
test detergents buttress the report of Ojo-
Omoniyi [32] that SDS is more easily utilised by
degraders than commercial detergents. The
control plates showed only a negligible amount
of bacterial growth which suggests that the
detergent provided a carbon and energy source
for the growth of the observed heterotrophs.
The isolates characterised were mainly aerobes
and facultative aerobes reinforcing observations
by Walczak and Donderski [34] that the removal
of anionic surfactant in any aquatic system is
dependent mainly on the presence of oxygen;
other influencing factors mentioned included
presence of suitable degrading bacteria,
temperature and surfactant properties. They
further reported that aerobic conditions were
more conducive than anaerobic conditions for
the removal of LAS from the environment. The
observed isolates are mainly Gram negative
highlighting the well-known ability of anionic
surfactants to damage the cell membrane of
Gram positive bacteria with no such effect on
their Gram negative counterparts [34–36]. The
detergent utilisers observed are similar to those
isolated in other studies [10,32,37]. Amengialue
et al. [36] found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa
showed the highest surfactant utilisation
potential. This is corroborated by Rama Bhat et
al. [38] who confirmed Pseudomonas aeruginosa
and E. coli as the organisms best able to utilise
detergents as a food source but found that
Staphylococcus and Bacillus showed only very
limited growth on selected detergents which is
somewhat in contrast to observations in this
study. The total counts in this study are
comparable to those recorded by Amengialue et
al. [37] who determined that bacterial counts
5
from laundry effluent ranged between 2.2 x 10
5
and 8.4 x 10 cfu/ml.
During biodegradation, the mean pH in the
medium increased from 7.0 – 7.4 on Day 0 to
about 8.8 – 9.4 on Day 28. This increased
alkalinity has been attributed to the production of
metabolites and alkaline by-products in the
system. There was a steady increase in utiliser
counts across the test systems with SDS and the
imported detergent brands supporting the greater
number of utilisers (Fig. 3) compared with local
brands. No distinct acclimatisation period is
observed, however for most of the detergents,
the initial growth observed is slow. Other studies
5
report a slightly different trend of an initial
decrease in growth rate prior to a gradual
increase [39]. This initial decrease or initially slow
growth as observed in this study can be
explained by the acclimatisation period taken for
the organisms to adapt to the disturbance; during
which time they synthesise the required enzymes
for degradation of the detergent. The absence of
a distinct acclimitisation period probably reflects
that the organisms in the river have become
accustomed to surfactant pollution. The steady
rise in counts observed just beyond day 7
justifies the possible assumption that the
microbes utilise the detergents as a sole carbon
source. The stationary and death phases were
not evident in this study. The growth cycle has
been found to be indicative of the biodegradation
rate [32]. When the counts are highest,
biodegradation has been observed to be at its
optimum. The acclimatisation of the microbial
population to detergent components enhances
the biodegradation efficiency of the
microorganisms.
The number of bacterial species growing on a
detergent agar medium is indicative not only of
the ease of biodegradation but of the efficacy of
the biocides incorporated into the detergent
formulation as well [16]. It, therefore, follows that
the poor growth on the local detergents may
suggest the use of greater amounts of biocides
as opposed to recalcitrance on the part of the
surfactant. The ability of these naturally-occurring
microbes to utilise novel compounds like
synthetic surfactants suggests the possession of
plasmids by these microorganisms; plasmids
which are unlikely to be present in all microbes
hence the ability to utilise these xenobiotics [10].
These organisms must possess specialised
enzymes for the purpose [40]. The growth on the
control seems to suggest the inability of some of
the microorganisms present in the New Calabar
River to thrive in the absence of the extraneous
nutrients that are regularly supplied into that
environment. It is worrisome to note that these
results indicate that the continuous discharge of
detergents into waterways would result in
enhanced growth of the indigenous flora
resulting in eutrophication and an imbalance in
the ecosystem.
The calibration curves obtained for the
detergents are shown in Fig. 4 while the results
of the biodegradation analyses of the detergents
during the 28-day incubation period at room
temperature using the river die-away technique
are illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 6 shows the extent of
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

primary biodegradation observed across the biodegradation of about 97%. The imported
detergents with reference to set standards. At detergents all presented biodegradation levels of
the end of the 28 day test period, the locally 90% or over which meet the Soap and Detergent
manufactured detergents had 15 – 44% Association, SDA [41] standard of 90% and are
surfactant remaining based on the presence of well above the Organisation for Economic
the Methylene Blue Active Substance (MBAS) Cooperation and Development, OECD, standard
while the imported brands had values of 5 – 8%. of 80% primary degradation [42]. Of the
SDS had the lowest value of 3% remaining eleven (11) locally formulated brands analysed,
surfactant. none reached 90% primary biodegradation;
only two met the minimum standard of 80%
All the detergents showed primary primary biodegradation; the rest have poor
biodegradation levels of over 50%. SDS values of about 53 – 65% primary biodegradation
demonstrated the greatest degree of primary (Fig. 6).

6
A
B
5.5 C
D
E
Log10TVC (cfu/ml)

F
5 G
H
SDS
4.5 I
J
K
L
4 M
N
O
3.5 P
Q

3
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)
Fig. 3. Growth profile of the detergent-utilisers over the 28-day period
Samples D – H and O are imported detergents while A – C, I – N, P and Q are local detergents
(SDS and Imported Brands are marked)

A
0.35 B
C
D
0.3 E
F
Absorbance at 390nm

0.25 G
H
SDS
0.2 I
J
K
0.15 L
M
N
0.1 O
P
Q
0.05

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Concentration (μg/ml)
Fig. 4. Calibration curves for the detergents
Samples D – H and O are imported detergents while A – C, I – N, P and Q are local detergents

6
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

100

% Surfactant (MBAS) Remaining

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)
A B C D E F G SDS
(A)
100
% Surfactant (MBAS) Remaining

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)
H I J K L M SDS
(B)
100
90
% Surfactant (MBAS) Remaining

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)
N O P Q SDS
(C)
Fig. 5. Extent of biodegradation of the different detergents over the 28 day test period
A shows observed biodegradation in Detergents A – G; B shows biodegradation curves for detergents H – M and
C shows biodegradation curves for detergents N – Q. SDS serves as the reference.
Samples D – H and O are imported detergents while A – C, I – N, P and Q are local detergents,
MBAS – Methylene Active Blue Substance

7
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

When biodegradation profiles of test detergent A The question which now arises is the
using sterile and non-sterile river water were composition of locally formulated detergents and
compared (Fig. 7); the set-up with sterile river their testing prior to release to consumers. The
water showed no degradation while degradation recalcitrance observed could be prompted by
was observed in the set-up with non-sterile river several issues the most significant of which is the
water. This highlights the fact that the observed chemical composition of these products. These
degradation in this study is due to microbial surfactants are a ready source of phosphate to
activity from the river water samples. The the aquatic ecosystem. A previous study,
composition of the individual detergents plays a attributed the high phosphate content in parts of
pertinent role in the extent of biodegradation of the New Calabar River to anthropogenic activity
the detergent observed within any environment [23]. Phosphates are crucial to the growth of both
[12]. Some synthetic surfactants have been microorganisms and aquatic plants. Even where
shown to impact negatively on biodegradation these detergents are biodegradable, their
rates as a result of the toxic effect of either the presence will undoubtedly stimulate the rapid
surfactant or its degradation by-products [43– proliferation of microorganisms able to use the
44]. surfactants as their basic carbon or phosphate

100

90
% Biodegradation

Locally Formulated
80 Brand
Imported Brand
- - - - SDA Standard
70
OECD Standard

60

50

40
A B C D E F G H SDS I J K L M N O P Q

Detergents Tested

Fig. 6. Primary biodegradation observed after 28 days

SDA – Soap and Detergent Association; OECD - Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

100
90
% Surfactant Remaining

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (days)
Sterile River Water + Test detergent
Non-sterile River Water + Test detergent

Fig. 7. Biodegradation results using sterile and Non-sterile River Water

8
 Osadebe et al.; JALSI, 16(4): 1-11, 2018; Article no.JALSI.40131

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