Bioremediation and biorecovery of aqueous lead by local lead-resistant organisms

Abstract Several industrial activities, such as mining and battery manufacturing, continue to introduce lead pollutants into the environment. Studies have indicated that current rates of lead usage leave less than two decades of global raw reserves available, highlighting the importance of lead recovery. Most conventional approaches to addressing lead pollution involve the separation of lead(II) ions from wastewater streams but require additional processing to facilitate the recovery of elemental zero valent lead. This chapter covers the use of organisms obtained from lead-contaminated soils and surfaces for the precipitation of various insoluble lead precipitates, including metallic lead, from simulated and real industrial wastewater. The various factors that influence this method of biorecovery are discussed. These include the variety and types of organisms that have been studied for this purpose, the effect and economic viability of different substrates, microbial tolerance of high lead concentrations, identities of the obtained precipitates, and reactor operation under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This chapter further examines the by-products and limitations encountered in lead biorecovery, as well as the possible mechanisms and drivers for microbial lead reduction.