The Alternating Growth of Bacteria within a Consortium During Desulfurization of Coal

Efforts to reduce organic sulfur in coal are taken through biodesulfurization by using desulfurization bacteria to release covalently-bound sulfur from the coal matrix. Coal is a complex hydrocarbon material that requires collaboration from more than one type of bacteria in a consortium for desulfurization. The current study shows how the individual members of a bacterial consortium obtained directly from coal samples grew on the coal. Mineral medium containing sub-bituminous coal with a concentration of 10%, 15%, and 20% served as a carbon source and the only sulfur to support the consortium's growth. The examination included growth patterns, concentrations of dibenzothiophene as an organic sulfur representative, pH, and sulfate concentration as the sulfur product released into the medium. The growth of individual members of the consortium was observed for 336 h. The consortium grew in all three coal concentrations with slightly different cell growth patterns and the release of dibenzothiophene. Members of the consortium grew alternately and overlapped, which showed possible linkages or dependence on products and existence from the growth of other members. The existence of the primary strain Moraxella osloensis COK1 indicated that they played a role in the activities and growth of other members. The alternating growth is discussed to produce a hypothetical illustration of how several other members play in using sulfur in a well-known desulfurization pathway. In conclusion, this study provides a deeper insight into the value of consortium members individually but growing together while swarming coal as a complex resource to become low-sulfur coal.

POST-COMBUSTION COAL DESULFURIZATION Review

The sulfur content in coal ranges from 0.5 to 5%, and it is an impurity that must be removed before burning coal, due to the toxic effects and acid rain caused by SO2 gas generated from sulfur oxidation. Sulfur cleaning technology can be carried out on coal before combustion (pre-combustion), and can reduce the inorganic sulfur content by up to 50%; however, it cannot reduce the organic sulfur content. Therefore, the industry relies on post-combustion desulfurization to remove SO2 from the gas from coal combustion. The aim of the coal desulfurization review is to direct desulfurization research to be efficient and effective, as well as to be environmentally friendly. Sulfur in coal consists of organic sulfur and inorganic sulfur. Coal inorganic sulfur consists of pyrite (FeS2), sulfate, and sulfide. The largest composition is pyrite. Organic sulfur consists of hetero-atomic and heterocyclic (thiophenic) macromolecules that bind N and O atoms, aromatic sulfides, and aromatic disulfides (small amounts). Inorganic sulfur can easily be separated from coal by means of flotation, microwave energy, magnetic forces, ultrasonic energy, and as well as microorganisms. Meanwhile, organic sulfur cannot be separated from coal by using the methods used in the inorganic sulfur separation process. Organic sulfur can be removed by chemical and biodesulfurization, however, this process is inefficient for industrial scale. The most recommended method is the absorption of SO2 gas in the gas from coal combustion, or post-combustion desulfurization. Various methods have also been investigated to separate SO2 gas, and more details will be described in this paper.

The evolution characteristics of organic sulfur structure in various Chinese high organic sulfur coals

Understanding the organic sulfur structure and its evolution characteristics is crucial to the desulfurization of coal, as they are the dominant factors determining the removal of organic sulfur from coal. To learn the organic sulfur structure characteristics, a series of high-organic-sulfur coals from China with different ranks were studied by coal petrology, structural chemistry, and organic geochemistry theory in this paper. Coal petrological analysis shows some of the high-organic-sulfur coals with high TPI values and low GI values indicating that they have experienced unusual conditions when the coal was forming. Through the FTIR analysis, the organic sulfur structural parameters shows the relative abundance of aliphatic sulfur (thiol, thioether and sulfone) in these coals decreased with the increasing coal rank and the relative abundance of aromatic sulfur in coal generally showed an increasing trend with increasing coalification, divided into three different evolutionary stages (0.37%–1.40%, 1.40%–1.99% and 1.99%–3.93% of Rm). Comprehensive analysis shows that EID and TPI had a significant correlation with the organic sulfur structural parameters, which means regardless of the coal rank the impact of the environment on the structure of organic sulfur is independent. These results give a new insight into organic sulfur characteristics in coal and its evolution characteristics with coal rank, which are potentially useful for the efficient remove the organic sulfur from coal.