ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Toxicology, Pollution and the Environment
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1591564
This article is part of the Research TopicRemediation and Health Risks of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils, Volume IIView all articles
Biomineralization of Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ by sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Desulfobulbus propionicus
Provisionally accepted
- Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
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Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) is considered to be the most promising alternative biological treatment for immobilization of heavy metals due to its high efficiency and low cost. However, the mechanism underlying the biomineralization process has remained unclear. In this study, the kinetics and effects of Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ mineralization by sulfatereducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and Desulfobulbus propionicus were investigated based on the microbial treatment technology, and the scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were used to reveal the mechanism of SRB treatment. The results showed that D. propionicus had a more efficient heavy metal mineralization rate than the D. desulfuricans, up to 98.97% and 75.62% at initial Cd 2+ concentrations of 30 and 60 mg/L particularly. respectively. Both D. desulfuricans and D. propionicus had achieved 80% immobilization efficiency of Pb 2+ with an initial Pb 2+ concentration less than 50 mg/L. D. desulfuricans and D. propionicus facilitate the precipitation of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ in the solution primarily as CdS, while Pb were mineralized and removed through phosphate and oxide precipitates of Pb and PbS via their metabolic activities involving sulfate conversion. This research suggested that mineralization of heavy metals mediated by microbial sulfate reduction should have prospects for broad application in bioremediation of mine drainage.
Keywords: Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, Desulfobulbus propionicus, microbial sulfate reduction, Cd 2+, Pb 2+, Biomineralization
Received: 11 Mar 2025; Accepted: 25 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Min, Wu, Zhang and Si. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Youbin Si, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, China
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