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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1982 October; 44(4): 878-883
Copyright © 1982, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Removal of Sulfur Compounds from Coal by the Thermophilic Organism Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology Research Center, Whitaker Laboratory 5, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015

ABSTRACT

The thermophilic, reduced-sulfur, iron-oxidizing bacterium Sulfolobus acidocaldarius was used for the removal of sulfur compounds from coal. The inclusion of complex nutrients such as yeast extract and peptone, and chemical oxidizing agents, 0.01 M FeCl₃ into leaching medium, reduced the rate and the extent of sulfur removal from coal. The rate of sulfur removal by S. acidocaldarius was strongly dependent on the sulfur content of the coal and on the total external surface area of coal particles. Approximately 96% of inorganic sulfur was removed from a 5% slurry of coal which had an initial total sulfur content of 4% and an inorganic (pyritic S and sulfate) sulfur content of 2.1%. This resulted in removal of 50% of initial total sulfur present in coal.