Formation, transport and recovery of biogenic elemental sulfur from sulfur-oxidizing bacteria

Abstract:

Elemental sulfur (sulfur globules) is an intermediate product of biological oxidation of sulfide. Elemental sulfur can be the main metabolite of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) according to stoichiometric O/S ratio. According to the distribution of elemental sulfur, they can be divided into intracellular sulfur globules and extracellular sulfur globules. The transmembrane transport of elemental sulfur from the inside to outside of cell is an important physiological characteristic of sulfur-secreting SOB. Recovery of elemental sulfur from biodesulfurization system is of great significance to the realization of waste recycling. In this paper, the formation process, occurrence form, metabolic characteristics, transport mechanism of elemental sulfur in SOB and the recovery of elemental sulfur from biodesulfurization system were reviewed in order to provide a reference for the research and development of a new biodesulfurization process.