Chapters authored
Reduction in the Sulfur Content of Fossil Fuels by Cunninghamella elegans (UCP 0596) to Dibenzothiophene Compound
Biodesulfurization (BDS) is one of the most promising technologies used together with traditional hydrodesulfurization (HDS) to reduce the sulfur content of fossil fuels. In this research study, a strain of Cunninghamella elegans (UCP 596) was isolated from mangrove sediments to metabolize an organosulfur dibenzothiophene (DBT) compound in the concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mM and transform to DBT sulfone (DBT-5-dioxide), followed by dibenzothiophene 5,5-dioxide and 2-hydroxybiphenyl metabolites, thus suggesting the use of the “4S” metabolic pathway. The fungus also degraded the DBT completely in the first 24 h of growth on a 2.0 mM DBT concentration by angular deoxygenation, which suggests that a new second metabolic pathway was used. The DBT was consumed as the carbon source, and the sulfur was removed in the form of sulfite ion. A new product, benzoic acid, was formed at the end of the catabolism of DBT by C. elegans using an angular route.
Part of the book: Recent Insights in Petroleum Science and Engineering