The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 22, 1998
Filed:
Sep. 19, 1996
Kevin A Gray, The Woodlands, TX (US);
Charles H Squires, The Woodlands, TX (US);
Daniel J Monticello, The Woodlands, TX (US);
Energy BioSystems Corporation, The Woodlands, TX (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to the discovery that the rate of reaction of the desulfurization of fossil fuels is enhanced by the addition of an oxidoreductase to the biocatalyst. The invention is drawn to a method for enhancing the rate of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur compounds, comprising the steps of: a) contacting the fossil fuel with an aqueous phase containing a biocatalyst capable of cleaving carbon-sulfur bonds and a rate-enhancing amount of an oxidoreductase, thereby forming a fossil fuel and aqueous phase mixture; b) maintaining the mixture of step (a) under conditions sufficient for cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bonds of the organic sulfur molecules by the biocatalyst, thereby resulting in a fossil fuel having a reduced organic sulfur content; and c) separating the fossil fuel having a reduced organic sulfur content from the resulting aqueous phase. The invention also relates to a recombinant microorganism containing one or more recombinant DNA molecules which encode a biocatalyst capable of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur molecules and which encode an oxidoreductase. The invention also relates to a composition comprising (a) a biocatalyst capable of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur molecules and (b) an oxidoreductase.