The growth of bacteria by dissimilatory elemental sulfur reduction is generally associated with obligate anaerobes and thermophiles in particular. Here we describe the sulfur-dependent growth of the facultatively anaerobic mesophile Shewanella putrefaciens. Six of nine representative S. putrefaciens isolates from a variety of environments proved able to grow by sulfur reduction, and strain MR-1...

Over the last three decades, ambient concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) air pollution have declined by approximately 80%. This paper tests whether the 1970 Clean Air Act and its subsequent amendments caused this decline. The centerpiece of this legislation is the annual assignment of all counties to SO2 nonattainment or attainment categories. Polluters face stricter regulations in nonattain...

Ž . In this paper, we find that sulfur dioxide SO emissions by electric utilities declined from 2 1985 to 1993 for reasons largely unrelated to the emission reduction mandate of Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The principal reason appears to be the decline in rail rates for low-sulfur western coal delivered to higher-sulfur coal-fired plants in the Midwest. Consequently, there is...

[1] Volcanic SO2 can affect the Earth’s environment. Where no direct measurements of SO2 in the atmosphere are available, a petrologic method of assessing sulfur release from the magma must be used. However, in studies of arcderived eruptions, satellite-based measurements of SO2 emissions using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data are orders of magnitude greater than those calculated pe...

Respiratory ammonification of nitrate is the microbial process that determines the retention of nitrogen in an ecosystem. To date, sulfur-dependent dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium has been demonstrated only with sulfide as an electron donor. We detected a novel pathway that couples the sulfur and nitrogen cycles. Thermophilic anaerobic bacteria Thermosulfurimonas dismutans and Dissu...

In the early 1990s, it was projected that annual SO2 emissions in Asia might grow to 80-110 Tg yr(-1) by 2020. Based on new high-resolution estimates from 1975 to 2000, we calculate that SO2 emissions in Asia might grow only to 40-45 Tg yr(-1) by 2020. The main reason for this lower estimate is a decline of SO2 emissions from 1995 to 2000 in China, which emits about two-thirds of Asian SO2. The...

The catalytic oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide over several binary (MxOy/TiO2) and ternary (V2O5/MXOY/TiO2) supported metal oxide catalysts was systematically investigated. The supported metal oxide components were essentially 100% dispersed as surface metal oxide species, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy characterization. The sulfur dioxide oxidation turnover frequencies of the...

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a major air pollutant, especially in developing countries. Many trees are seriously impaired by SO2, while other species can mitigate air pollution by absorbing this gas. Planting appropriate tree species near industrial complexes is critical for aesthetic value and pollution mitigation. In this study, six landscape tree species typical of a subtropical area were investi...

Palladium-based catalyst can be employed for natural gas exhaust clean up due to its high activity for light hydrocarbon oxidation. Unfortunately, trace amounts of sulfur in the natural gas feed severely deactivate the catalyst. In this paper, SO2 adsorption over a monolithic Pd/Al2O3 oxidation catalyst is monitored in a time-resolved manner in the presence of 100 ppm SO2 under simulated aging ...