Biodesulfurisasi batubara Bukit Asam menggunakan Thiobacillus ferrooxidans

Abstract

Coal is a very important non-renewable energy resource in Indonesia and many industries depend on this resource. In coal burning process, coal produces hazardous waste contains high sulfuric compound that harmful for environment as well as human. In order to reduce sulfur content in the coal, several methods could be applied. One of them is biodesulfurization of coal using T. ferrooxidans. Main objectives of this research are: 1) to know the most effective strain of T. ferrooxidans in order to reduce sulfur content in coal, and 2) to know ability of T. ferrooxidans in order to reduce sulfur content in a bioreactor. The experiments consisted of three main steps, that are: 1) Stock culture rejuvenation, 2) Strain selection, and 3) Coal desulfurization in a bioreactor. Medium that used in this research is according to Leathen et al. (1956). The result of this research show that T. ferrooxidans ICBB 9100 is the most effective strain for coal desulfurization. T. ferrooxidans strain ICBB 9100 can reduce sulfur content 77.53% within 12 days. By treatment of the coal in bioreactor, sulfur content was reduced 62.89% within 2 days by T. ferrooxidans strain ICBB 9100. Key words: coal, biodesulfurization, T. ferrooxidans