MICP as a potential sustainable technique to treat or entrap contaminants in the natural environment: A review

In the last two decades, developments in the area of biomineralization has yielded promising results making it a potentially environmentally friendly technique for a wide range of applications in engineering and wastewater/heavy metal remediation. Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) has led to numerous patented applications ranging from novel strains and nutrient sources for the precipitation of biominerals. Studies are being constantly published to optimize the process to become a promising, cost effective, ecofriendly approach when compared with the existing traditional remediation technologies which are implemented to solve multiple contamination/pollution issues. Heavy metal pollution still poses a major threat towards compromising the ecosystem. The removal of heavy metals is of high importance due to their recalcitrance and persistence in the environment. In that perspective, this paper reviews the current and most significant discoveries and applications of MICP towards the conversion of heavy metals into heavy metal carbonates and removal of calcium from contaminated media such as polluted water. It is evident from the literature survey that although heavy metal carbonate research is very effective in removal, is still in its early stages but could serve as a solution if the microorganisms are stimulated directly in the heavy metal environment.