Effects of bacterial inoculation and calcium source on microbial-induced carbonate precipitation for lead remediation

Heavy metal contamination has caused serious threats to surrounding fragile environments and human health. While the novel microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) technology in the recent years has been proven effective in improving material mechanical and durability properties, the mechanisms remedying heavy metal contamination still remain unclear. In this study, the potential of applying the MICP technology to the lead remediation under the effects of urease activity and calcium source was explored. The values of OD₆₀₀ corresponding to the ureolytic bacterial activity, electrical conductivity (EC), urease activity (UA) and pH were applied to monitor the degree of urea hydrolysis. Further, the carbonate precipitations that possess different speciations and cannot be distinguished through test tube experiments were reproduced using the Visual MINTEQ software package towards verifying the validity of the proposed simulations, and revealing the mechanisms affecting the lead remediation efficiency. The findings summarised in this work give deep insights into lead-contaminated site remediation engineering.