DESULFURIZATION OF BENZOTHIOPHENE BY AN ISOLATED GORDONIA SP. IITR100

Different recalcitrant aliphatic and aromatic sulfur compounds e.g. Dibenzothiophene, Benzothiophene, and Di-methyl Dibenzothiophene etc. have been remaining in the petrol and diesel, even after hydrodesulfurization, a chemical method of sulfur impurities removal. These sulfur impurities are required to be removed before it is being transported as fuel. So many microbes have been reported in the last decade showing potential for removing the sulfur impurities by using various pathways at ambient temperature, especially 4S pathways. In this study, we describe desulfurization of a model compound Benzothiophene by a Gordonia sp. IITR100 using microbial cell culture and analytical techniques e.g. spectrophotometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry using column-5. Gordonia sp. IITR100 can grow on Benzothiophene as well as Dibenzothiophene us shown by spectrophotometrical analysis as evident by increased turbidity in aqueous culture. Benzothiophene was metabolized to o-hydroxystyrene as the final product analogous to ‘4S’ pathway as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectra analysis revealed. Gordonia sp. IITR100 have already been shown desulfurization with heavy organosulfur compounds like Thianthrene, and Benzonahpthothiophene to o-hydroxyphenyl phenylsulfone and 2-phenyl-naphthalene-1-ol respectively. The Gordonia sp. IITR100 have shown potential for Desulfurization of heavy and calcitarant sulfur-compounds suggests its potential (broad substrates range) for use in various tough organosulfur fractions in petroleum. Thus, this bacterial strain could be utilized   for commercial purpose of biodesulfurization.