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Abstract

The invention relates to the discovery that the rate of reaction of the desulfurization of fossil fuels is enhanced by the addition of a flavoprotein to the biocatalyst. The invention is drawn to a method for enhancing the rate of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur compounds, comprising the steps of: a) contacting the fossil fuel with an aqueous phase containing a biocatalyst capable of cleaving carbon-sulfur bonds and a rate-enhancing amount of a flavoprotein, thereby forming a fossil fuel and aqueous phase mixture; b) maintaining the mixture of step (a) under conditions sufficient for cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bonds of the organic sulfur molecules by the biocatalyst, thereby resulting in a fossil fuel having a reduced organic sulfur content; and c) separating the fossil fuel having a reduced organic sulfur content from the resulting aqueous phase. The invention also relates to a recombinant microorganism containing one or more recombinant DNA molecules which encode a biocatalyst capable of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur molecules and which encode a flavoprotein. The invention also relates to a composition comprising (a) a biocatalyst capable of desulfurizing a fossil fuel containing organic sulfur molecules and (b) a flavoprotein.

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First Claim