title: Microbially Induced Precipitation of Strontianite Nanoparticles.
abstract: The objectives of this study were to investigate the microbially mediated precipitation of strontium by microorganisms, and to examine the mineralogical characteristics of the precipitates. Wu Do-1 (Proteus mirabilis) enriched from rhodoliths was used to precipitate strontium at room temperature under aerobic environment. The growth of Wu Do-1 gradually increased over 16 days (OD600 = 2.6) and then decreased until 22 days (OD600 = 2.0) during microbial incubation for strontium precipitation. Also, the pH decreased from 6.5 to 5.3 over 4 days of incubation due to microbial oxidation of organic acids, and then the pH increased up to 8.6 at 25 days of incubation due to NH3+ generation. The Sr2+ concentration in the biotic group sharply decreased from 2,953 mg/L to 5.7 mg/L over 29 days of incubation. XRD, SEM-/TEM-EDS analyses revealed that the precipitates formed by Wu Do-1 (Proteus mirabilis) were identified as 20-70 nm sized strontianite (SrCO3). Therefore, these results suggested that formation of sparingly soluble Sr precipitates mediated by Wu Do-1 (Proteus mirabilis) sequesters strontium and carbon dioxide into a more stable and less toxic form such as strontianite (SrCO3). These results also suggest that bioremediation of metal-contaminated water and biominealization of carbonate minerals may be feasible in the marine environment.
authors.forename: Serku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.lastname: Yumi Kim
authors.forename: Young Jae
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Yul
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Roh