Solubilization of coal by an extracellular product fromStreptomyces setonii 75Vi2

Summary Several low-ranked coals were solubilized when placed on the surface of agar cultures ofStreptomyces viridosporous T7A andS. setonii 75Vi2. When grown in submerged cultureS. setonii 75Vi2 produced an extracellular component that was capable of solubilizing coals. The extracellular coal solubilizing component had a molecular weight of <10000 and was heat stable since, after 1h at 121°C, only 30–40% of the activity was lost. Treatment with any of three proteases also appeared to be ineffective in decreasing activity. These results suggest that coal solubilization byS. setonii 75Vi2 is nonenzymatic.Research supported by the Fossil Energy Advances Research and Technology Program, managed by the Pittsburg Energy Technology Center, U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract No. DE-AC05-840R21400 with Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.