Benzoic acid, sorbic acid, and sodium lauryl sulfate at low concentrations (5 to 10 mg/liter) each effectively inhibited bacterial oxidation of ferrous iron in batch cultures of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. The rate of chemical oxidation of ferrous iron in low-pH, sterile batch reactors was not substantially affected at the tested concentrations (5 to 50 mg/liter) of any of the compounds.

An improved enzymatic method for the synthesis of adenylysulfate (APS) from adenosine 5'-phosphate using APS-reductase from Thiobacillus denitrificans is described. Isolation of millimole quantitities of this sulfur nucleotide is achieved rapidly by means of ion exchange chromatography on a strongly basic ion exchange resin. A facile and reproducible desalting procedure is described.

Biological attack of pyrite is a potential method of reducing pyritic sulphur in coal. Integration of such attacks with microwave pretreatment can enhance the efficiency of the process. Alternatively, processes such as oil-agglomeration can be coupled with the biological attack to obtain higher rates of pyritic sulphur removal. In this study desulphurization of Indian (Assam) coal was carried o...

When the strictly autotrophic bacterium Thiobacillus thiooxidans was grown on sulfur, keto acids accumulated in the medium until they reached an inhibitory level at which growth ceased. Much greater growth was possible if these substances were continually dialyzed out of the medium.

As part of a study on the assimilation of organic compounds by autotrophic microorganisms, enrichment cultures were set up for thiobacilli. A facultatively autotrophic Thiobacillus was isolated in pure culture and grew heterotrophically on many organic compounds including p-hydroxybenzoate (PHBz). Since degradation of aromatic compounds is carried out by a limited range of bacterial genera, the...