Abstract
Clean coal technologies (e.g. coal biosolubilization) are of essential value, especially in Europe, where coal is the national wealth and other energy sources like crude oil are not available. Fusarium oxysporum LOCK 1134, the strain isolated from brown coal, efficiently biosolubilizes lignite. The obtained liquefied products contain 50% less sulfur and over 99% less mercury than the crude coal. Moreover, the liquefied coal can be modified further by laccase. In this study F. oxysporum laccase was expressed in Pichia pastoris for the first time and was assessed as an additional agent for coal degradation. The novel laccase contributes to humic and fulvic acids release from liquefied coal due to introduction of oxygen into coal structure. The effect is increased when a natural redox mediator, sinapic acid, is present in the reaction mixture—up to 30% and 80% respectively. Humic acids obtained by biological process are environmentally friendly fertilizers that may have stimulating effects on crop growth.
Highlights
Brown coal is an important energy source in Europe
Production of recombinant F. oxysporum laccase in P. pastoris The recombinant P. pastoris KM71H was cultivated in Sixfors fermenter (InFors-HT, Bottmingen, Switzerland) of maximal volume of 500 mL according to Pichia Fermentation Process Guidelines with minor modifications
Expression and production of F. oxysporum laccase coding sequence in P. pastoris One of the potential F. oxysporum laccase coding sequences described before was synthesized with codon optimized for expression in P. pastoris
Summary
Brown coal is an important energy source in Europe. It is discouraged to be traditionally burnt due to its low calorific value and harmful substances that are created upon combustion, such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides. Apart from expensive and energy-demanding chemical methods several biological methods of coal solubilization are under investigation. The idea is to apply microorganisms (bacteria or fungi) or solubilizing agents produced by them (alkali substances, biosurfactants, chelators, enzymes) to degrade the polymer (Fakoussa and Hofrichter 1999; Gokcay et al 2001; Wang et al 2016). Trichoderma reesei, Bacillus mycoides and Gordonia alkanivorans are few from the list of brown coal biosolubilizing microorganisms
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