Microbially mediated-precipitation of cadmium carbonate nanoparticles

The objectives of this study were to investigate the microbially mediated precipitation of cadmium using microorganisms enriched from rhodoliths and to characterize the mineralogical properties of the precipitates. A 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed the enriched microorganisms contained carbonate forming microorganisms such as Proteus mirabilis. The microorganisms mediated Cd-precipitation with Cd-acetate, but no precipitates were formed without the microbes in D-1 medium. XRD analysis showed the precipitates were poorly crystalline Cd-carbonates (CdCO₃). SEM and TEM-EDS analyses showed that the Cd-carbonate minerals were irregular in shape, 20-30 nm in size, and composed of C, O, and Cd. Therefore, microbially mediated precipitation of cadmium carbonates could be used as a precursor of CdO nanoparticles and could play an important role in Cd immobilization in Cd-contaminated water as well as CO₂ fixation in natural environments.