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Biodesulfurization: a mini review about the immediate search for the future technology

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Abstract

A major concern among the environmental agencies includes the emission of sulfurous gas into the environment. Consequently, the oil agencies are in constant search of alternative processes aiming the reduction of sulfur content in fuels. One of the technologies commonly used is the hydrodesulfurization (HDS), but this is a high-cost process that also requires high temperature and pressure. A complementary alternative to HDS is biodesulfurization (BDS) involving the use of specific microorganisms to the removal of sulfur present in the carbon chain, using the oxidation pathway “4S”, in which there is cleavage of carbon–sulfur bond, and maintaining the calorific value of the organic molecule. The BDS is a low-cost technique when compared with HDS. For this process to occur, activation of specific enzymes is needed, which is controlled by dszABC genes. Therefore, strategies to optimize this process have been of great importance to the oil refineries. For decades, attempts to try to implement BDS in the industry have been made, but difficulties in obtaining satisfactory results led the researchers to seek new knowledge about this bioprocess. The need of more studies concerning implementation on an industrial scale of this process is evident, since this biotechnology is a promising alternative to refineries in the near future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). The authors also thank Msc. Daniela Arruda Costa and Msc. Camila Siqueira Neves by the considerations, Msc. Erika Taylor and Rafael Bohlke for the English review of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Douglas Boniek & Maria Aparecida de Resende Stoianoff

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Ambiental, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Débora Figueiredo

  3. Faculdade de Engenharia e Arquitetura, Fundação Mineira de Educação e Cultura, FUMEC, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Antônio Fernando Batista dos Santos

  4. Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antonio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil

    Maria Aparecida de Resende Stoianoff

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  1. Douglas Boniek
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  2. Débora Figueiredo
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Boniek, D., Figueiredo, D., dos Santos, A.F.B. et al. Biodesulfurization: a mini review about the immediate search for the future technology. Clean Techn Environ Policy 17, 29–37 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-014-0812-x

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