Microbial mineralization for remediating heavy metal-contaminated groundwater: mechanisms, applications, advances,...

Heavy metal pollution in groundwater poses a serious threat to ecological integrity and human health. In-situ remediation mediated by microbial mineralization is widely considered a promising strategy to mitigate such contamination. However, the complex interactions among microorganisms, heavy metals, and minerals, as well as key bottlenecks in engineering applications, require deeper analysis. Combining bibliometric analysis with mechanistic insights and engineering case studies, this review synthesizes core metabolic pathways for microbial mineralization of heavy metals, elucidates how carbonate, sulfide, and phosphate mineral formation drives heavy metal immobilization, and identifies current research frontiers and emerging trends. Results reveal that remediation efficiency crucially depends on: (1) microbial metabolic resilience in extreme environments, (2) pH-mediated control over mineralization product stability, and (3) dynamic equilibrium between heavy metal concentrations and microbial community tolerance. Engineering applications demonstrate that high-efficiency strain cultivation/immobilization enhances microbial adaptability, while integrated remediation systems enable synergistic multi-metal removal. Current challenges include suppressed microbial activity in extreme environments, low treatment efficacy in complex pollution systems, and inadequate long-term stability monitoring of mineralized products. Future research should prioritize: Enhancing strain tolerance via synthetic biology, developing synergistic remediation technologies, advancing microbe-nano hybrid materials, and establishing intelligent monitoring systems-collectively enabling efficient, sustainable groundwater remediation strategies.