The present paper entails the investigations on the removal of total sulfur (St) from the coal samples of four coal and lignite fields of India and Indonesia by Ralstonia sp and Pseudoxanthomonas sp. Minimum desulfurization (in relative%) was observed in Nagaland coals (India) which contain maximum quantity of St (6.86%) among the samples of the studied area while higher removal (in relative%) was observed in coals containing relatively low quantity of St. Nevertheless, a positive correlation exists between St and removal percentage in samples of all coalfields indicating an increase in removal% with increasing concentration of St. The removal percent (with respect to its initial St) by Pseudoxanthomonas sp in the investigated area is in order of: Vastan (mean 41.84%) > Indonesian (mean 34.16%) > Nagaland (mean 18.26) coals. In case of removal by Ralstonia sp the order of removal % can be put as: Vastan (mean 45.50%) > Rajpardi (mean 42.93%) > Indonesian (mean 20.22%) > Nagaland (mean 11.83%) coals.
AcharyaC.KarR. N. and SuklaL. B., 2001. Bacterial removal of sulphur from three different coals. Fuel80(15), 2207–2216.
2.
AkobD. M.MillsH. J. and KostkaJ. E., 2007. Metabolically active microbial communities in uranium contaminated sub surface sediments. FEMS Microbial Ecology59, 95–107.
3.
BuchananD. H.CoombsK. J.ChavenC.KruseC. W. and HackleyK. C., 1990. In: MarkuszewskiRWheelockTD (Eds) Processing and Utilization of High-Sulfur Coals III. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 79–87.
4.
CaraJ.CarballoM. T.MoranA.BonillaD.EscolanoO. and FructosGarcia F. J., 2005. Biodesulphurization of high sulphur coal by heap leaching. Fuel84(14–15), 1905–1910.
5.
ChandraD. and MishraA., 1990. Removal of sulphur from Assam coal by bacterial means. In: WiseDL. Editor, Bioprocessing and biotreatment of coals. New York, Marcel Dekker. pp. 263.
6.
ChangY.C. and MyersonA. S., 1982. Growth models of the continuous bacterial leaching of iron pyrite by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. Biotechnology and Bioengineering24(4), 889–902.
7.
CasagrandeD.J.GronliK. and SuttonN., 1980. The distribution of sulphur and organic matter in various fractions of peat: Origins of sulphur in coal. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta44(1), 25–32.
8.
CohenA.D.SpackmanW. and DebenP., 1984. Occurrence and distribution of sulfur in peat forming environment of southern Florida. International Journal of Coal Geology4(1), 73–96.
9.
DemirI. and HarveyR., 1991. Variation of Organic Sulphur in Macerals of Selected Illinois Basin Coals. Organic Geochemistry17(4), 525–533.
10.
DodgeA. G.RichmanJ. E.JohnsonG. and WackettL. P., 2006. Metabolism of thioamides by Ralstonia pickettii TA. Applied Environmental Microbiology72, 7468–7476.
11.
HarveyR.D. and DemirI., 1992. Characterization of Organic Sulphur in Macerals and Chars; Illinois State Geological Survey, Open File Series, 1.
12.
HuntJ.W. and HobdayD.K., 1984. Petrographic composition and sulfur content of coals associated with alluvial fans in the Permian Sydney and Gunnedah Basins, eastern Australia. In: RahmaniR.A.FloresR.M. (Eds), Sedimentology of coal and coal-bearing sequences, Special Publication of the International Association of Sedimentologists7, pp. 43–60.
13.
LudeckeC.ReicheM.EusterhuesK.NietzscheS. and KuselK., 2010. Acid tolerant microaerphilic Fe (II) oxidizing bacteria promote Fe (III) accumulation in a fen. Environmental Microbiology12(10), 2814–2825.
14.
NereusW. G.AlbertoN.WilliamF. and DanielK.Y., 2005. Production of rhamnolipid by Pseudomonas chlororaphis, a non pathogenic bacterium. Applied Environmental Microbiology71(5), 2288–2293
15.
PandeyR. A.RamanV. K.BodkheS. Y.HandaB. K. and BalA. S., 2005. Microbial desulphurization of coal containing pyritic sulphur in a continously operated bench scale coal slurry reactor. Fuel84(1), 81–87.
16.
RentonJ.J. and BirdD.S., 1991. Association of Coal Macerals, Sulphur, Sulphur Species and lron Disulphide Minerals in three Columns of the Pittsburgh Coal. International Journal of Coal Geology17(1), 21–50
17.
RobertsD.L., 1988. The relationship between macerals and sulphur content of some South African Permian coals. International Journal of Coal Geology10(4), 399–410.
18.
SinghP. K.SinghM. P.SinghA. K. and AroraM., 2010a. Petrographic characteristics of coal from the Lati Formation, Tarakan basin, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. International Journal of Coal Geology81(2), 109–116.
19.
SinghP. K.SinghM. P.SinghA. K. and NaikA. S., 2012a. Petrographic and geochemical characterization of coals from Tiru valley, Nagaland, NE India. Energy, Exploration and Exploitation30(2), 171–192.
20.
SinghP. K.SinghM. P.SinghA. K.NaikA. S.VikasSingh K.VijaySingh K. and RajakP.K., 2012b. Petrological and geochemical investigations of Rajpardi lignite deposit, Gujarat, India. Energy Exploration and Exploitation30(1), 131–152.
21.
StevensJr.StanleyE. and WilellaBurgess D., 1987. Biological desulfurization of coal. U.S. Patent. 4659–670, 1–8.
22.
SunY.Z.QinS.J.ZhaoC.L. and KalkreuthW., 2010. Experimental study of early formation processes of macerals and sulfides. Energy and Fuels24(2), 1124–1128.
23.
SwannerE. D.NellR. M. and TempletonA. S., 2011. Ralstonia species mediate Fe -oxidation in circumneutral, metal rich subsurface fluids of Henderson mine, CO. Chemical Geology284(3–4), 339–350.
