title: Microbial denitrogenation of fossil fuels.
abstract: The microbial degradation of nitrogen compounds from fossil fuels is important because of the contribution these contaminants make to the formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hence to air pollution and acid rain. They also contribute to catalyst poisoning during the refining of crude oil, thus reducing process yields. We review the current status of microbial degradation of aromatic nitrogen compounds and discuss the potential of microbial processes to alleviate these problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemical and Biophysical Sciences University of Houston, TX 77204-5934, USA. benedik@uh.edu
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Benedik
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Willson
mesh_terms: D015258:Acid Rain; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D002227:Carbazoles / Q000378:metabolism; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D006867:Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008967:Molecular Biology; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000378:metabolism; D009876:Operon; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015258:Acid Rain; D002227:Carbazoles; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D006867:Hydrolases