Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries
The removal of sulfur by deep hydrodesulfurization is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Additionally, sulfur is not separated completely from heterocyclic poly-aromatic compounds. In nature, several microorganisms (<i>Rhodococcus erythropolis</i> IGTS8, <i>Gordonia</i>...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/3/211 |
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| author | Abrar Ahmad Mazin A. Zamzami Varish Ahmad Salwa Al-Thawadi Mohammad Salman Akhtar Mohd Jahir Khan |
| author_facet | Abrar Ahmad Mazin A. Zamzami Varish Ahmad Salwa Al-Thawadi Mohammad Salman Akhtar Mohd Jahir Khan |
| author_sort | Abrar Ahmad |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The removal of sulfur by deep hydrodesulfurization is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Additionally, sulfur is not separated completely from heterocyclic poly-aromatic compounds. In nature, several microorganisms (<i>Rhodococcus erythropolis</i> IGTS8, <i>Gordonia</i> sp., <i>Bacillus</i> sp., <i>Mycobacterium</i> sp., <i>Paenibacillus</i> sp. A11-2 etc.) have been reported to remove sulfur from petroleum fractions. All these microbes remove sulfur from recalcitrant organosulfur compounds via the 4S pathway, showing potential for some organosulfur compounds only. Activity up to 100 µM/g dry cell weights is needed to meet the current demand for desulfurization. The present review describes the desulfurization capability of various microorganisms acting on several kinds of sulfur sources. Genetic engineering approaches on <i>Gordonia</i> sp. and other species have revealed a variety of good substrate ranges of desulfurization, both for aliphatic and aromatic organosulfur compounds. Whole genome sequence analysis and 4S pathway inhibition by a pTeR group inhibitor have also been discussed. Now, emphasis is being placed on how to commercialize the microbes for industrial-level applications by incorporating biodesulfurization into hydrodesulfurization systems. Thus, this review summarizes the potentialities of microbes for desulfurization of petroleum. The information included in this review could be useful for researchers as well as the economical commercialization of bacteria in petroleum industries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6bff981dd5e54454a7dc29fd790269dc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:56Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj.art-6bff981dd5e54454a7dc29fd790269dc2023-11-17T11:01:33ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372023-02-019321110.3390/fermentation9030211Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in RefineriesAbrar Ahmad0Mazin A. Zamzami1Varish Ahmad2Salwa Al-Thawadi3Mohammad Salman Akhtar4Mohd Jahir Khan5Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Health Information Technology, Faculty of Applied Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Sakir P.O. Box 32038, BahrainDepartment of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Albaha University, Albaha 65779, Saudi ArabiaSchool of Biotechnology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, IndiaThe removal of sulfur by deep hydrodesulfurization is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Additionally, sulfur is not separated completely from heterocyclic poly-aromatic compounds. In nature, several microorganisms (<i>Rhodococcus erythropolis</i> IGTS8, <i>Gordonia</i> sp., <i>Bacillus</i> sp., <i>Mycobacterium</i> sp., <i>Paenibacillus</i> sp. A11-2 etc.) have been reported to remove sulfur from petroleum fractions. All these microbes remove sulfur from recalcitrant organosulfur compounds via the 4S pathway, showing potential for some organosulfur compounds only. Activity up to 100 µM/g dry cell weights is needed to meet the current demand for desulfurization. The present review describes the desulfurization capability of various microorganisms acting on several kinds of sulfur sources. Genetic engineering approaches on <i>Gordonia</i> sp. and other species have revealed a variety of good substrate ranges of desulfurization, both for aliphatic and aromatic organosulfur compounds. Whole genome sequence analysis and 4S pathway inhibition by a pTeR group inhibitor have also been discussed. Now, emphasis is being placed on how to commercialize the microbes for industrial-level applications by incorporating biodesulfurization into hydrodesulfurization systems. Thus, this review summarizes the potentialities of microbes for desulfurization of petroleum. The information included in this review could be useful for researchers as well as the economical commercialization of bacteria in petroleum industries.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/3/211biodesulfurizationcrude oilenvironmental pollutionhydrodesulfurizationsulfur compounds |
| spellingShingle | Abrar Ahmad Mazin A. Zamzami Varish Ahmad Salwa Al-Thawadi Mohammad Salman Akhtar Mohd Jahir Khan Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries Fermentation biodesulfurization crude oil environmental pollution hydrodesulfurization sulfur compounds |
| title | Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries |
| title_full | Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries |
| title_fullStr | Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries |
| title_short | Bacterial Biological Factories Intended for the Desulfurization of Petroleum Products in Refineries |
| title_sort | bacterial biological factories intended for the desulfurization of petroleum products in refineries |
| topic | biodesulfurization crude oil environmental pollution hydrodesulfurization sulfur compounds |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/9/3/211 |
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