Enhancement of biodesulfurization by Pseudomonas delafieldii in a ceramic microsparging aeration system.

A 700 ml membrane-aerated, stirred glass reactor equipped with four vertical baffles was constructed. Biodesulfurization of model oil (n-dodecane containing dibenzothiophene-DBT) and hydrodesulfurized diesel was carried out using Pseudomonas delafieldii strain R-8. Microbubble aeration gave an activity of 1.3 mg DBT removed g(-1) h(-1) and 277 μg sulfur g(-1) h(-1) for model oil and hydrodesulfurized diesel, respectively. These values were 1.9- and 1.6-times higher than using a traditional bubble aeration process. This is a promising method for the biodesulfurization of petroleum feedstocks.