Abstract

VALERO VALERO, Nelson Osvaldo; BELENO CARRILLO, Jocelyn  and  MANCILLA, Sandra. Biotransformation of low rank coal by bacteria isolated from environments influenced by coal residue. Rev. colomb. biotecnol [online]. 2011, vol.13, n.1, pp.58-65. ISSN 0123-3475.

in this study were evaluated five bacterial strains isolated from microhabitats with high content of coal particles generated from storage and washing processes, in "The Cerrejón" open coal mine (Colombia), their ability to biotransform a low rank coal (LRC) was described by testing solubilization on solid and liquid culture medium, as well as bleaching of humic substances (HS) extracted from LRC. All tested bacteria showed ability to biotransform LRC on solid medium, this activity is greater when the LRC has been pretreated with nitric acid; in liquid medium LRC reached 37% of weight loss by Acinetobacter baumannii strain, accompanied by the appearance of up to 6.8 mg/ml-1 of soluble substances with absorbance at 465 nm, changes in culture medium pH suggest that LRC biotransformations activity is associated with alkaline substances release, finally found evidence to suggest that HS contained within LRC are transformed by cometabolism, possibly by depolymerization reactions, bleaching and repolimerization.

Keywords : Coal solubilization; humic substances; El Cerrejón; by Acinetobacter baumannii.