Brazil is one of the main producers of palm oil (Ellaus guineeusis). It is a low-cost product that has some interesting industrial qualities, such as its use as the raw material for the production of glycerin and soap as well as its use in the preparation of food. Some renewable sources and agroindustrial wastes have been used extensively in research on the production of biosurfactants of the Pseudomonas strains. However, to our knowledge, no studies have been published oil the use of palm oil as a substrate for the synthesis of biosurfactants by Pseudomonas alcaligenes. This paper describes the production and characterization of biosurfactants synthesized by a strain of P. alcaligenes PCL previously isolated from soil that was contaminated with crude-oil. Furthermore, the paper presents the optimization of the production of biological surface-active compounds by applying experimental design tools and their capacity to emulsify hydrocarbons. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.