Recent progress in coal bioprocessing research in the United States: Scope and areas needing further research

✍ Scribed by Gregory J. Olson

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1988
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 413 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-3449
• DOI: 10.1016/0921-3449(88)90025-0

✦ Synopsis

Recent research on microbiological treatment of coals is concerned with applying microorganisms to clean, upgrade or transform coals. These research areas include: (1) coal desulfurization, including both inorganic sulfur removal (iron disulfides, mainly pyrite) and removal of organic sulfur (or that occurring as part of the coal structure ); (2) coal solubilization, especially with lower rank coals, by certain bacteria and fungi; (3) conversion of coal or coal products to methane or organic acids; and (4) removal of metals from coal. Other potential applications of microbial treatment of coals might include coal upgrading through oxygen or nitrogen removal. However, these have received little or no investigation. DESULFURIZATION