Removal of Cadmium and Arsenic from Water through Biomineralization

Abstract

Due to anthropogenic activities, heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) are one of the most toxic xenobiotics contaminating water, thus, affecting the human health and environment. The objective of the present investigation was to study the effect of ureolytic bacteria Bacillus paramycoides – MSR1 for the bioremediation of Cd, and As from contaminated water. The B. paramycoides showed high resistance to heavy metals of Cadmium and Arsenic with minimum inhibitory concentration of 12.84 µM and 48.54 µM, respectively. The urease activity and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation was evaluated by bacteria in the presence of different concentrations of Cd and As. High removal rates for cadmium (93.13%) and arsenic (94.25%) were observed after a period of 168 hours. Microstructural analysis revealed formation of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite by the bacteria and EDS further confirmed the presence of heavy metal ions in the calcium carbonate precipitates. The results demonstate removal of Cadmium and Arsenic by microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation to be promising technique for decontamination of water.